ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources fined Enbridge $3.3 million for failing to follow environmental laws during construction of its Line 3 oil pipeline replacement. The agency said the fine against the Alberta-based company was for a breach of a protective rock strata over an artesian aquifer. The result, the agency said, has been an “unauthorized groundwater appropriation.” The DNR gave Enbridge until October 15 to correct the problem and implement new groundwater protection protocols and monitoring. The agency, also, authorized the Clearwater County attorney to proceed with criminal prosecution if the company doesn’t comply. The breach was at the Clearbrook Pump station 10, a critical point in the 1,100-mile pipeline that delivers Alberta crude oil to Midwest refineries. Enbridge is under financial pressure to get oil flowing through its rerouted Line 3, whose construction has faced continuing legal obstacles from government regulators, tribal authorities and environmentalists. The line is close to completion. Recently Enbridge informed shippers that it was ready to begin pumping 620,000 barrels per day e in October to reach full capacity of 760,000 bpd by January.
Line 3 profile
The original Line 3 pipeline began carrying oil from Alberta sands through a 34-inch pipe 1976. The line extended 1,100 miles to Superior, Wisconsin, where it connected to lines to Upper Midwest refineries. The pipeline was not tested for flaws in its entirety until after 1976. From the 1970s until the 1991 spill, the Line 3 pipeline suffered 24 leaks due to seam failure. The largest Minnesota spills:
> 1973: 1.3 million gallons at Argyle on the Middle River in Marshall County.
> 1991: 1.7 million gallons at Grand Rapids, on the Mississippi River in Itasca County — the largest inland oil spill in U.S. history.
Drillheads to refineries. Enbridge’s Line 3 stretches 1,100 miles.