Minnesota Supreme Court Declines To Hear Appeal From Line 3 Opponents

CBS Minnesota

August 25, 2021

The Minnesota Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to hear an appeal by opponents of Enbridge Energy’s Line 3 oil pipeline, letting stand a key decision by independent regulators to allow construction on the project to proceed.

Without comment, the state’s highest court declined to take the case, issuing a one-page order that effectively affirmed a decision in June by the Minnesota Court of Appeals. And it left the Native American and environmental groups that have been protesting at construction sites across northern Minnesota with a dwindling number of legal options.

The Court of Appeals declared that the state’s Public Utilities Commission correctly granted Calgary, Alberta-based Enbridge a certificate of need and route permit for the 337-mile Minnesota segment of what’s a larger project to replace an aging crude oil pipeline built in the 1960s that can run at only half capacity. The court also backed the commission’s approval of the environmental review for the project.

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