Line 3 Opponents File Lawsuit to Stop Construction; Protest in Backus on Monday

Opponents of a pipeline project that crosses three states have asked a federal court to halt construction in Minnesota on allegations that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers failed to address several environmental issues when it approved a water quality permit.

Two Minnesota Ojibwe bands, White Earth and Red Lake, and environmental groups Honor the Earth and the Sierra Club filed a lawsuit Thursday that asks for a preliminary injunction to stop work on the Enbridge Energy Line 3 pipeline that began early this month across northern Minnesota. Line 3 starts in Alberta, Canada and clips a corner of North Dakota before crossing northern Minnesota en route to Enbridge’s terminal in Superior, WI. The 337-mile line in Minnesota is the last step in replacing the deteriorating pipeline that was built in the 1960s.

Today, a group calling themselves water protectors was protesting at one of Enbridge Energy’s Line 3 staging locations near Backus. Protesters blocked access to the entrance of a pipe storage yard near Backus with one person hanging in a harness from the top of a tall wooden tripod. That person was later arrested, according to a tweet from protest group Giniw Collective.