Enbridge Line 3 project gets favourable Minnesota ruling

Enbridge Inc’s Line 3 340-mile crude pipeline replacement project has received a favourable ruling from the Minnesota courts.

Administrative Judge James LaFave ruled that the joint petitioners against the line had failed to meet their burden of proof in claiming that Minnesota pollution regulators had not properly considered the project’s construction impacts.

The 36-inch OD 760,000-b/d pipeline would cross at least 212 streams and affect more than 700 acres of wetland.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) approved Line 3’s draft water permits for construction in February 2020.

Five organisations – two Ojibwe bands and three environmental groups – subsequently requested a contested case hearing regarding the permits.

Among the allegations brought forward against the permits were that construction would permanently impact water quality and wetlands and that MPCA and Enbridge had undercounted the amount of wetland which would be affected.

MPCA granted the contested case hearing earlier in 2020.

MPCA has until mid-November to decide whether to issue final water-quality permits. The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission in February 2020 approved the Line 3 project for a second time.

Source: Oil & Gas Journal