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Minnesota regulators approve the final permit for Enbridge Energy’s Line 3 pipeline, but the start date is not specified.
Minnesota regulators have approved the final permit for the replacement of the Enbridge Energy Line 3 pipeline in northern Minnesota, giving the company the green light to begin construction on the $ 2.6 billion project. dollars in the United States.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency granted a stormwater building permit for the project, which was the last hurdle Calgary, Alta.-Based Enbridge needed to overcome after years of reviews and legal battles. The US Army Corps of Engineers and the Minnesota Independent Public Services Commission (PUC) gave final approvals last week.
The company and its supporters welcomed the move, but opponents pledged to continue their fight.
“Construction can now begin,” Enbridge spokeswoman Juli Kellner said on Monday in a statement that did not specify when this would occur.
A sign listing emergency contacts for companies on ‘Pipeline Alley’ (Enbridge, Kinder Morgan and Keyera Corp) is seen in an industrial estate called ‘Refinery Row’ in Sherwood Park, near Edmonton, in Alberta in 2016 [Chris Helgren/Reuters]
But Enbridge has signaled that the start may be imminent. The company notified landowners along the route in letters earlier in the month that it expected construction “to begin around November 30.” The company has previously said it expects the work to take around nine months.
“This is the culmination of six years of proof and scientific review of the project,” Kellner said. “Line 3 is poised to deliver significant economic benefits to counties, small businesses, Native American communities, and union members – bringing 4,200 mostly local family construction jobs, millions of dollars in local spending and additional tax revenue at a time when Minnesota needs it most. “
But two tribes – the Red Lake and White Earth bands of Chippewa – last week asked the PUC to suspend its approval of the project, saying the influx of construction workers would expose residents along the road to a higher risk of COVID-19.
A comprehensive appeal from environmental and tribal groups is also pending in the Minnesota Court of Appeals.
Opponents say the project threatens spills into the crystal-clear waters where Native Americans harvest wild rice and that the oil from the Canadian tar sands it plans to transport would exacerbate climate change.
Enbridge said replacing the deteriorating pipeline, built in the 1960s and only operating at half of its original capacity, is the best option to protect the environment while meeting the region’s energy needs. The company said it has instituted strict coronavirus testing and testing protocols for workers to protect them and surrounding communities.
“Thousands of our friends and neighbors across Minnesota are eager to use their construction skills to protect our environment and our communities by replacing an existing deteriorating pipeline,” said Joel Smith, Chairman of the Minnesota and Dakota Board of the North of the International Union of Northern Workers. America.
Line 3 begins in Alberta, Canada, and cuts through a corner of North Dakota before crossing Minnesota to the Enbridge terminal in Superior, Wisconsin.
The replacement segments in Canada, North Dakota and Wisconsin have already been completed, leaving only the 542 kilometer (337 mile) section in Minnesota. In total, Enbridge plans to spend $ 2.9 billion on the US portion.
“This project has faced years of unprecedented scrutiny and obstruction by Democrats and their allies,” Minnesota Republican Minority Leader Kurt Daudt said in a statement. But he added that the process was “finally” working.
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