North Dakota utility regulators have decided a pipeline to bring Canadian crude oil to the midwestern United States is in the public interest, but the question of its location remains open.

The Public Service Commission voted Wednesday to grant a "certificate of public convenience and necessity" for the North Dakota segment of the $2.1 billion Keystone pipeline, which is intended to carry oil from Alberta to Oklahoma and Illinois.

As planned, the pipeline would run for 2,148 miles, including 218 miles in almost a straight line north and south through Cavalier, Pembina, Walsh, Nelson, Steele, Barnes, Ransom and Sargent counties.

The project's developer, TransCanada Corp., of Calgary, Alberta, expects to spend at least $277 million constructing the North Dakota segment. The company hopes to start pumping 435,000 barrels a day through the line in late 2009.

The commission's action on Wednesday means commissioners believe the pipeline is in the public interest, and that TransCanada is capable of building and operating the line.

However, the PSC has yet to approve the pipeline's exact route, which is necessary before construction may begin. The city of Fargo objects to the route, claiming a leak may contaminate the Sheyenne River and Lake Ashtabula, which the city relies on for drinking water.

"We're going to be getting the crude oil from somewhere, and this happens to be the safest means of getting the crude oil," Commissioner Tony Clark said. "You can rail it in over tanker cars, you can put it on semis, or you can put in through a pipeline."

The project's developers say its design and route is meant to minimize risk to the river and lake. The commission held public hearings on the route in July and September, and has scheduled two more days of hearings in the state Capitol next week.

Earlier, the PSC set a Dec. 12 deadline for deciding the route question, but Commissioner Kevin Cramer said Wednesday it would be "impossible" to meet. The commissioners said Wednesday they are unsure when a decision will come.

Jeff Rauh, a spokesman for the Keystone project, praised the commission's vote, but said the certificate was of little use without permission to build the line.

"We look forward to completing the hearings, and getting to the point where we can move forward and begin to deliver the benefits that I think were a part of the discussion," Rauh said. "This is a project that stands to deliver significant benefits to the U.S. and to North Dakota."