The State Department just took a major step toward a final decision on the controversial Keystone XL pipeline by setting a Feb. 2 deadline for federal agencies to provide their views on the project.

For months, the State Department has been going through the review process, and the new deadline indicates that the agency is finally ready to make the decision, according to a Fox News report.

However, don’t expect anything to be announced when the Feb. 2 deadline rolls around.

The Keystone pipeline is considered a State Department issue because it crosses the boundary between the United States and Canada.

The Keystone pipeline has been a contentious issue between Republicans and President Obama. Republicans argue that the pipeline is a pure jobs creator, but Obama argues that most of those jobs will be created outside the United States and that he was worried about how the pipeline would affect carbon emissions. Obama has promised to veto legislation that would authorize the pipeline, which appears to have support in the Republican-controlled Senate, but it is not clear to have the required 67 votes to override Obama’s veto.

One of the key hurdles for building the pipeline, a suit by three landowners in Nebraska, was removed when the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled that the landowners had failed to show legal standing. Opponents in Nebraska filed two new lawsuits over the proposed route. They want to stop the Canadian company TransCanada from using eminent domain power to access their land. These new lawsuits are similar to the ones that were thrown out, but their attorney says that they do have legal standing in this case.

The Keystone pipeline system is an oil pipeline in Canada and the United States and includes three phases that have already been completed. The fourth phase, Keystone XL, would duplicate the phase one pipeline between Alberta, Canada and Nebraska with a shorter route and a bigger pipe.