Minnesota utility regulators have given key approvals for a proposed $2.6 billion crude oil pipeline
ST. PAUL, Minn. —
Minnesota utility regulators on Monday approved a court-ordered revised environmental review for Enbridge Energy’s plan to replace its aging Line 3 crude oil pipeline across the state, then reinstated two key approvals that the company needs to proceed with the disputed project.
The state Public Utilities Commission voted 3-1 to approve the environmental impact statement for the $2.6 billion project, saying the new review adequately addressed the impacts of a potential spill in the Lake Superior watershed.
Commissioner Matt Schuerger disagreed with the majority, saying the updated review “doesn’t adequately represent the consequences of a spill,” the Star Tribune reported.
But commissioner Valerie Means, who was not on the board in 2018 when the commission originally approved an environmental impact statement for the project, said she believes “there has been a sufficient evaluation.”
Means, Chairwoman Katie Sieben and commissioner John Tuma all voted to approve the revised environmental impact statement. They also agreed, by the same 3-1 vote margin, to reissue a certificate of need and a route permit that had been vacated by an earlier court decision.
The new pipeline would replace Enbridge’s Line 3, which was built in the 1960s. Enbridge, based in Calgary, Alberta, says the old line needs to be replaced because it is increasingly prone to corrosion and cracking and can run at only about half its original capacity. Environmental and tribal activists have urged regulators to kill the project.
The commission approved an environmental review in March 2018. But the Minnesota Court of Appeals sent the previous final version of the project’s environmental review back to the commission after finding that the massive document failed to adequately deal with the potential risks of an oil spill in the Lake Superior watershed. The state Department of Commerce then conducted additional modeling and concluded in the update that there was little chance of a spill reaching the lake.
During a public hearing Friday, environmental and tribal activists argued against the project, saying climate change has reached a crisis stage. But the project’s supporters, including union construction workers, testified it’s time to let project move forward.
Line 3 starts in Alberta and clips a corner of North Dakota before crossing northern Minnesota en route to Enbridge’s terminal in Superior, Wisconsin. Enbridge said in a filing ahead of Friday’s hearing that the record continues to show the project is needed.
Monday’s decisions clear the way for Enbridge to obtain some remaining state and federal permits it still needs, but further legal challenges are expected.