Court Victory For Important Minnesota Pipeline Project
After disappointing news earlier this month about the Keystone XL Pipeline, there were positive developments last week regarding a segment of the Line 3 Pipeline in Minnesota. Like the Keystone project, this one has been the subject of intense debate and protest.
As The Hill reported, however, an appeals court upheld the state Public Utilities Commission’s approval of Canadian company Enbridge Energy to build a segment of the pipeline through the state. Groups opposing the project had argued that Enbridge had not properly demonstrated sufficient demand for oil to build that portion of the pipeline.
Judges Lucinda Jesson and Michael Kirk disagreed.
While noting the existing pipeline is “deteriorating,” the judges said, “When balancing harms and predicting future demand, the [Public Utilities Commission] is due deference. It is the agency tasked with these difficult decisions … With this deference in mind, we affirm the commission’s adequacy … and its decisions to issue a certificate of need and routing permit for the Line 3 replacement.”