Enbridge files application to replace Minnesota pipeline, would create largest capacity line

Enbridge Energy filed an application with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission Friday to ask that a pipeline from North Dakota to the Wisconsin border be replaced.

The project is the company's largest pipeline ever to transport more Canadian tar sands heavy crude to the U.S. and yet another major oil pipeline expansion or replacement Enbridge is planning across northern Minnesota. According to a website devoted to the project, the total replacement cost in the U.S. represents a "$2.6 billion investment by Enbridge."

Company officials previously said a "certificate of need" permit application isn't necessary because an existing permit allows for maintenance of the line.

But environmentalists say that allowing additional toxic, corrosive tar sand to be piped through the state poses a spill risk.

Political Coverage Powered by You

Your gift today creates a more connected Minnesota. MPR News is your trusted resource for election coverage, reporting and breaking news. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.

Enbridge's application says the pipeline known as Line 3 enters Minnesota in the far northwestern corner and then bends southeast through Cass, Crow Wing and Aitkin counties and on to Superior, Wis.

The thousand-mile pipeline was originally built to move 760,000 barrels of heavy crude a day. But due to pressure restrictions, Enbridge now moves much less, only 390,000 barrels a day. Line 3 also requires regular maintenance. The replacement line would restore the original capacity, the Calgary-based company said.

Enbridge wants to replace about 600 miles of existing crude oil pipeline associated with facilities in various parts of Minnesota, according to the application.

Enbridge has already expanded its Alberta Clipper pipeline, which also feeds oil to its hub in Superior, Wis. The state of Minnesota approved that expansion from 450,000 barrels a day to 800,000. The U.S. State Department endorsed a temporary workaround while a final project permit is pending. The Sierra Club, White Earth Nation and several other groups have sued the State Department over the workaround.

The company also has proposed a new pipeline called Sandpiper to carry more than 200,000 barrels a day from the booming Bakken fields in North Dakota across northern Minnesota. A Minnesota administrative law judge has recommended the Public Utilities Commission grant Enbridge a certificate of need for that project.

Correction (April 27, 2015): This story has been changed to reflect that Enbridge has already expanded its capacity and that some groups in Minnesota have gone to court challenging that expansion.