Oil pipeline foes look past regulators after another loss
Published 8:24 am Friday, December 14, 2018
ST. PAUL — Opponents of Enbridge Energy’s proposed Line 3 crude oil pipeline replacement are turning their attention to fighting the project on other fronts after a Minnesota regulatory panel took one of its final steps Thursday and reaffirmed its approval of the project.
The Public Utilities Commission unanimously rejected petitions by environmental and tribal groups that asked the panel to reconsider its 3-2 decision in June to approve a route permit for the line across northern Minnesota. Those opponents acknowledged ahead of time that they held out little hope, given the commission earlier this month unanimously rejected their petitions to reconsider the project’s certificate of need.
Supports of the project started arriving before 6 a.m. and grabbed most of 83 public seats in the hearing room. So only a few opponents, from environmental groups including MN350 and Native American tribes, were in the room to protest immediately after the decision.
“Line 3 is a climate change disaster so we will stop Line 3,” they chanted.
Groups fighting the project conceded beforehand that persuading their people to show up and wait in line in the cold for an uncertain chance at a seat had gotten harder. But around 30 people from MN350 and other groups gathered near the hearing room afterward for a short rally.
Now opponents are shifting their focus to the Minnesota Court of Appeals and preparing for demonstrations along the route as construction preparations ramp up.
“This is not the last time I’ll be seeing any of you,” Andy Pearson, Midwest tar sands coordinator for MN350, vowed to the protesters.
Enbridge wants to replace its existing Line 3 because it was built in the 1960s and is increasingly subject to cracking and corrosion. Line 3 crosses northern Minnesota and a corner of North Dakota on its way from the oil fields of Alberta to Enbridge’s terminal in Superior, Wisconsin.