NW Minnesota News

Rep. Dan Fabian (R-Roseau) is praising the Public Utilities Commission’s decision to accept the final environment statement for Enbridge’s Line 3 pipeline replacement project.

“After painstaking delays, extended deadlines and other regulatory hurdles, it's refreshing that the Public Utilities Commission has allowed the Line 3 pipeline project to take a small step forward by accepting the final environmental impact statement,” Fabian said in a March 15 press release.

Enbridge’s proposed project involves replacing the original Line 3 pipeline, which is more than 50 years old.

“We’ve realized that it would need about 6,000 repairs to keep on running that pipeline safely,” Enbridge spokeswomen Christine Davis told the Park Rapids City Council at a March 10 meeting.

The pipeline begins in Canada and spans the states of North Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

“Oil moves through that line at about walking speed,” Davis told the city council. “Safety is the first priority.”

While opponents of the project feel the installation of the new line will contaminate the environment, Davis said Enbridge will implement a variety of measures to ensure that won’t happen. Among their plans are performing hydrotests of pipe soundness, using timber mats, creating buffer zones and using special horizontal drills.

Proponents, like Fabian, believe the pipeline replacement project offers many benefits.

“This project will protect our environment, grow good-paying jobs and generate billions in economic growth for communities across northern Minnesota. We hope regulatory agencies will allow this project to continue through Minnesota's stringent review processes as quickly as possible, without additional unnecessary delays or roadblocks,” Fabian said.

The Line 3 replacement project was approved by the Canadian government in 2016.