LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A bill that would allow Nebraska to resume its environmental review of the Keystone XL pipeline has won first-round approval from state lawmakers.

Lawmakers voted 35-2 Thursday to advance the measure by Papillion Sen. Jim Smith.

Pipeline developer TransCanada agreed to submit to a state environmental review in November, in the midst of a special session aimed at the Canada-to-Texas oil pipeline. Environmentalists and landowners had protested the pipeline’s original path through Nebraska’s environmentally sensitive Sandhills region and the Ogallala Aquifer, a massive groundwater supply.

The state environmental review was halted in January, when President Barack Obama rejected a federal permit for the project after congressional Republicans tried to force his hand.

Nebraska lawmakers approved the bill so the state can continue its review while TransCanada reapplies for federal approval.