Free Republic

The Minnesota Court of Appeals on Monday affirmed state regulators' key approvals of Enbridge Energy's Line 3 oil pipeline replacement project, in a dispute that drew over 1,000 protesters to northern Minnesota last week. A three-judge panel ruled 2-1 that the state's independent Public Utilities Commission correctly granted Enbridge the certificate of need and route permit that the Canadian-based company needed to begin construction on the 337-mile (542-kilometer) Minnesota segment of a larger project to replace a 1960s-era crude oil pipeline that has been deteriorating and can run at only half capacity. Pipeline opponents can appeal the decision to the...

Canada’s oil sands industry just can’t catch a break. Enbridge’s Line 3 pipeline is facing the prospect of more delays as it was hit with a legal setback in a Minnesota court. On Monday, a court ruled that the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission’s decision to approve the Line 3 replacement, based on an environmental impact statement, was not supported with “substantial evidence” that it would not harm the environment. Specifically, the court cited the inadequate assessment of how an oil spill would affect Lake Superior and its watershed. The case was brought by a coalition of environmental groups and native...