Sources close to the project told the Canadian Press over the weekend that the Canada-based firm TransCanada, which is constructing the project, is preparing for the decision.
The State Department has been reviewing the pipeline project for six years, becoming a source of contention between Democrats and Republicans, who spar over the benefits of the project. Republicans want the project approved for the economic and jobs creation benefits. But Democrats say the project would only worsen the environmental challenges posed by climate change.
The nearly 1,200-mile pipeline would deliver tar sands oil from Canada to refiners on the Gulf Coast. The State Department has the final say on the project because it crosses an international border.