Environmental Review: No Serious Impacts to Lake Superior From Line 3 Pipeline

An updated environmental review for Enbridge Energy’s proposal to replace its aging Line 3 crude oil pipeline across northern Minnesota has found no serious impacts on Lake Superior from hypothetical spills.

Regulators ordered the update after a Minnesota court declared an earlier review inadequate because it failed to specifically address the potential impacts of a spill into the Lake Superior Watershed. A public comment period runs through January 16th.

If the Public Utilities Commission deems the update adequate, Enbridge hopes to start construction of the Minnesota and North Dakota segments of the replacement pipeline in mid-2020.