Walz administration keeps up fight against Line 3

Gov. Tim Walz’s administration said Tuesday it will appeal the latest approvals by state utility regulators for Enbridge Energy’s plan to replace its old and corroding Line 3 crude oil pipeline across northern Minnesota.

The state Commerce Department faced a deadline of Wednesday for filing a request to ask the Minnesota Court of Appeals to take another look at the project. Environmental and tribal groups opposed to the pipeline have already filed their appeals.

Supporters and opponents of the project had stepped up pressure on the state government in the days leading up to the decision. Opponents rallied outside the Capitol and the official Governor’s Residence on Tuesday to urge him to keep up the fight, while supporters brought petitions and replica pipes to the Capitol last Thursday to urge no more delays or appeals.

Calgary, Alberta-based Enbridge says replacing the aging pipeline, which was built in the 1960s, is the safest option for maintaining the oil supply to Midwest refineries. The company says its planned $2.6 billion investment will put 4,200 people to work in union construction jobs while boosting tax revenues for the state and communities along the route.

But opponents have long argued that the Canadian tar sands oil that the replacement pipeline would carry would aggravate climate change, and that spills could endanger sensitive waters and wetlands in the Mississippi River headwaters region where Native Americans harvest wild rice and claim treaty rights.

The Public Utilities Commission reaffirmed its support for the project in February. The commission originally approved the environmental review and issued a certificate of need and route permit in 2018. But the Minnesota Court of Appeals sent the review back to the PUC for further study on the potential risks of an oil spill in the Lake Superior watershed. The Commerce Department then conducted additional modeling and concluded in the final updated review that there was little chance of a spill reaching the lake.

However, the department joined with other opponents in petitioning the commission to reconsider anyway. They argued that new evidence had emerged in the meantime, including a drop in oil demand resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. Commerce specifically argued that Enbridge had failed to conduct a legally adequate long-range demand forecast. But the commission rejected those arguments and voted 4-1 to reaffirm its support for the project.

Line 3 starts in Alberta and clips a corner of North Dakota before crossing northern Minnesota en route to Enbridge’s terminal in Superior, Wisconsin. Replacement sections in Canada and Wisconsin are already in service.

The project has been politically sensitive for the Democratic governor’s administration at a time when Republicans who control the Minnesota Senate have been flexing their political muscles. Republicans generally back the project while Democrats have been split.

Commerce Commissioner Steve Kelley is expected to face questions about Line 3 at a Senate confirmation hearing Friday. The Senate GOP used its majority last week to reject the confirmation of Labor and Industry Commissioner Nancy Leppink. Republicans cited concerns about her job performance. But Walz and other Democrats said it was really political payback for how the governor has used his executive powers to manage the pandemic. They also expressed fears that Republicans could oust additional cabinet members to press their grievances with the administration.

American Petroleum Institute (API) made a statement about the appeal filed by the Minnesota Department of Commerce on the project:

“The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has already ruled numerous times in favor of the Line 3 Replacement Project, and it’s disappointing that Governor Walz’s Department of Commerce continues to attempt to justify activist claims against this project without any substantial evidence. This project will bring thousands of union jobs to communities along the pipeline route and billions of dollars in investment and taxes to the state of Minnesota, needed now more than ever to fund schools, emergency services, and hospitals. It’s past time the Walz Administration acknowledged the previous decisions by the MN PUC and realizes the benefits this modern pipeline project could bring to Minnesota. We will continue to monitor this case in the Minnesota Court of Appeals,” said Robin Rorick, Vice president of Midstream and Industry Operations