Minnesota regulators granted a stack of important permits and approvals Thursday for Enbridge Energy's planned Line 3 pipeline replacement across northern Minnesota, setting the long-delayed $2.6 billion project on the road toward beginning construction soon. The approvals from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and Department of Natural Resources clear the way for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to issue the remaining federal permits for the Calgary-based Enbridge. The MPCA could then approve a final construction storm water permit that's meant to protect surface waters from pollutant runoff. MPCA Commissioner Laura Bishop said in a statement that her agency's approval "requires Enbridge to meet Minnesota's extensive water quality standards instead of lower federal standards." They contend it threatens pristine waters where Indigenous people harvest wild rice and that the Canadian oilsands oil it would carry would aggravate climate change.

Source: CBC News November 12, 2020 23:48 UTC