Opponents of Enbridge’s Line 3 pipeline state their case to the Minnesota Court of Appeals this morning (9am) in a legal challenge brought by environmental groups and the Mille Lacs, White Earth and Red Lake bands. Winona LaDuke with Honor the Earth says the environmental impact statement that state officials assembled is “entirely inadequate.” She says, “There’s no spill analysis if 915 thousand barrels a day of oil spills into Duluth-Superior harbor. We think that a spill analysis should be done to protect the Great Lakes.” LaDuke says a “no build” alternative was not examined, even though Enbridge told shareholders the oil could be moved through other pipelines.
Backers of the Line 3 upgrade say it’s had rigorous environmental review and will bring badly-needed jobs to northern Minnesota. The state Commerce Department under Governor Tim Walz is continuing a separate legal challenge to the project.