State regulators have declined a request to halt construction on the Line 3 pipeline while court appeals are ongoing.
“Operation of the existing Line 3 is more likely to cause harm than construction of the project,” said Minnesota Public Utilities Commissioner Valerie Means. “The commission has determined that replacing an old aging pipeline is the safest option for protecting the environment and Minnesota communities.”
The PUC voted 4-1 Friday to deny a request from the Red Lake Band of Chippewa and White Earth Band of Ojibwe to stay key project approvals while the Minnesota Court of Appeals considers permit challenges.
The commission issued its final approvals for the Line 3 replacement project earlier this year following nearly six years of review.
“This commission worked in partnership with federal, state, tribal and local units of governments to permit the replacement of a 50-year-old-plus pipe,” said PUC Chair Katie Sieben. “Should the new pipeline not be constructed, emissions from the extraction of this product will still occur, the oil will still cross Minnesota.”
Enbridge began construction on the $2.6 billion pipeline this week after receiving its final permit on Monday. Already about 1,000 workers have reported to job sites along the 340-mile route across northern Minnesota, and 1,000 more are expected to start work next week, said lawyers for trade unions working on the project.
Commissioners said halting construction now would be harmful to those workers. Means said the project is “beneficial to Minnesota’s economy, particularly during the pandemic.”
Attorneys for the Red Lake and White Earth bands brought up concerns over the spread of COVID-19 as workers pour into rural areas that may not have the capabilities to handle a surge in cases. In a letter to Gov. Tim Walz this week, White Earth Band Chairman Michael Fairbanks wrote the project “poses a significant problem to the health and well-being of tribal members.”
“It is in the best interest for the safety, and even the survival, of White Earth tribal members and families … to place a moratorium on Enbridge’s Line 3 construction work, at least until substantial vaccine-related community COVID protection levels have clearly been reached,” the letter said.
Commissioner John Tuma, who said during Friday’s meeting he has had COVID-19, said the governor’s emergency powers are clear and he “doesn’t need this commission nipping” at the administration over coronavirus concerns.
Commissioner Matt Schuerger, the lone vote in favor of a stay, said by the time the courts issue a ruling the pipeline could be completed. Work is expected to wrap up before the end of 2021.
“Without a stay, Enbridge is likely to complete Line 3 before the Court of Appeals can issue a decision,” he said. “I believe the record before us supports a finding of irreparable harm to the tribes.”
Winona LaDuke, leader of the environmental group Honor the Earth, said in a statement the PUC’s “predictable actions [Friday] again demonstrate that the regulatory process in Minnesota is brazenly pro-oil industry. The commission’s denial of the stay is an attempt to stop the appellate court from hearing our claims and the claims of the Department of Commerce that a new pipeline is not needed.”
Enbridge said in a statement that “the Line 3 replacement project has passed every test.”
“The project is already providing significant economic benefits for counties, small businesses, Native American communities and union members,” the company said. “Line 3 is complete and in service in Canada and Wisconsin, and is complete in North Dakota, leaving only the segment in Minnesota not yet replaced with a state of the art pipeline, made of thicker steel with more advanced coatings that will protect the environment for generations to come.”