- Minnesota's Public Utilities Commission yesterday approved the final environmental review for Enbridge's (ENB, EEP) proposal to replace its aging Line 3 crude oil pipeline in the state, setting the stage for a final decision on the project in June.
- Much of the debate preceding the PUC's approval centered on a "traditional cultural properties survey" to identify significant locations along the route including Native American burial grounds and sacred sites; the PUC did not wait for the results before approving the environmental review.
- Built in the 1960s, Line 3 carries crude oil from Alberta through North Dakota and Minnesota to ENB's terminal in Wisconsin; the company wants to replace the 282-mile stretch in Minnesota with a new 337-mile pipeline on a partially different route that would take it through the pristine Mississippi River headwaters region, a proposal opposed by environmentalists.