The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (United States) has approved key permits for the Line 3 Replacement Project, developed by the Canadian energy transportation company Enbridge. The approvals pave the way for the US Army Corps of Engineers to issue federal permits for the project.
Enbridge aims at replacing an existing 1,660 km long crude oil pipeline originally installed in the 1960s, that extends from Edmonton in Alberta (Canada) to Superior in Wisconsin (United States), with the objective to increase the transport capacity of light, medium and heavy crude oil by 370,000 bbl/d, from the current 390,000 bbl/d to 760,000 bbl/d. The project has been delayed since 2017 due to the opposition of First Nations and environmental groups in Manitoba (Canada) and Minnesota (United States). Enbridge has already completed the Canadian section of oil pipeline, which runs across Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, for US$4bn. The infrastructure entered commercial operation in December 2019. The construction of the US section, which crosses North Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin, is expected to cost US$2.9bn. In February 2020, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (United States) has approved a revised final environment impact statement for the project.