The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Monday issued a construction permit for Enbridge’s new pipeline across northern Minnesota, the last major approval needed for the controversial $2.6 billion project.
The Corps’ blessing was expected after Minnesota state pollution regulators earlier this month approved related construction permits for the pipeline, a replacement for Enbridge’s current Line 3.
The Corps decision brings Calgary-based Enbridge one step closer to starting pipeline construction as early as this month.
The federal permit, issued by the Army Corps’s St. Paul district, covers pipeline construction impacts to myriad water bodies in Minnesota. The pipeline will ferry heavy Canadian oil across northern Minnesota to Enbridge’s terminal in Superior, Wis.
“This decision is based on balancing development with protecting the environment,” Col. Karl Jansen, St Paul District commander, said in a statement. “Our decision follows an exhaustive review of the application and the potential impacts associated with the construction of the pipeline within federally protected waters.”
The 340-mile new pipeline would cross 212 streams and affect more than 700 acres of wetlands in Minnesota — the reason many environmental groups have fought the project throughout the regulatory process.
The Army Corps was waiting for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) to act before releasing its permits. The MCPA two weeks ago granted water quality permits related to Line 3 construction.
The MPCA must still grant a stormwater drainage permit to Enbridge, a more routine approval that’s expected within the next few weeks.
The pipeline has been winding through the Minnesota regulatory process for six years. The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, the state’s primary regulator of pipelines, approved the pipeline in February for the second time after a court sent it back to the panel for changes in the project’s environmental impact statement.
Enbridge has said the new pipeline is a critical safety enhancement. The current Line 3 is so corroded it’s running at only half capacity. The new pipeline would restore full oil flow.
Environmental groups and some Indian bands have said the pipeline — which follows a new route — would open a new region of pristine waters to the prospect of oil spills, as well as exacerbate climate change by allowing for more oil production.
Jansen said the Army Corps staff “worked deliberately and extensively with our federal and state partners, federally recognized tribes, environmental organizations and the applicant.”