The public comment period has ended on the draft environmental impact statement for Enbridge’s proposed upgrade of its “Line 3” pipeline that crosses Minnesota on its way from Alberta, Canada to Superior, Wisconsin. Asked whether he supports the project, Governor Mark Dayton said, “we’ll have to see what the route is.” The governor says, “If it’s not transferred by pipe, then it’s transferred in most cases by trains, and we’ve seen the consequences of those mishaps and the damage they’ve done.” Environmental groups oppose the pipeline because of risks of oils spills in environmentally-sensitive areas, including lakes where Ojibwe bands harvest wild rice.
Margaret Levin with the Sierra Club North Star Chapter says the draft E-I-S is “wholly inadequate — from calculation errors to excluding important alternatives and using Enbridge data without independent verification.” Levin says the people of Minnesota deserve better.
Opponents have threatened protests like those in Standing Rock, North Dakota. Governor Mark Dayton says, “I’ve certainly thought about it. Certainly based on what happened in North Dakota, very, very concerned about that, but it’s premature to make any judgments at this point.”
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