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State utility regulators are once again preparing to make a decision on the 

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission 

approved Enbridge Energy's Line 3 project

, which would replace the aging oil pipeline that runs across northern Minnesota, 

Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled that the project first needed a revised environmental study

 the project’s original environmental review didn't adequately address the potential impact of a spill in the Lake Superior watershed.

Rivers of Oil podcast

The Line 3 project

 will meet in St. Paul to take public comment on the revised study. On Monday, PUC commissioners will decide whether to accept it — and whether they will again approve the controversial project.

The new pipeline would replace one of the five Enbridge pipelines that carry oil across northern Minnesota. It has drawn strong opposition from environmental groups, tribal groups and some tribal governments and climate change activists.

Enbridge says the project is necessary — that the current Line 3 pipeline has been transporting oil across northern Minnesota from Alberta, Canada, since the 1960s and needs to be replaced. Labor and industry groups support the project for the construction jobs it would create. Local government officials tout the benefits of the tax revenue it would generate for the counties it crosses.

But opponents argue that a new pipeline would enable more oil to be transported — and then burned — worsening the effects of climate change. They say they are concerned about the risk of oil spills in a part of Minnesota replete with lakes and rivers. 

If the project is approved, Enbridge has said it hopes to begin construction later this year. The controversial project 

has already attracted several legal and other challenges

A quick guide to the the Minnesota commission deciding on Line 3 

How could Line 3 affect our climate?

Why no one agrees on the project's impact

Would denial of the Line 3 project mean more oil trains?

Clean up your old pipeline

From Line 3 construction to present-day battles

Environmental News

Water

Climate

NewsPartners

Oil and water: The Line 3 debate

MPR News Staff

Author

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission approved the project, which would replace an aging Enbridge Energy oil pipeline across northern Minnesota, in June 2018. But last summer, the Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled that the project first needed a revised environmental study in order to move forward. On Friday, the PUC will hear public comments on the new study.

State regulators to hear public comments on Line 3 pipeline project once again

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