Bowing to Pressure From Enbridge, Public Utilities Commission Adjusts Line 3 Timeline

St. Paul, MN -- Today, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) announced that they will continue to push through a decision on Enbridge’s controversial Line 3 tar sands pipeline, in spite of recent developments that require additional analysis.

In December, the PUC found that the environmental impact statement (EIS) on the pipeline was inadequate, giving the Department of Commerce 60 days to provide additional information. In response, Administrative Law Judge Ann O'Reilly, who will provide a recommendation to the PUC on whether to approve or deny the permit for Line 3, pushed back her briefing schedule. Rather than adjusting their own schedule to account for this delay and ensure that all parties have access to an adequate environmental review of the project, the PUC instead opted to bow to pressure from Enbridge to push forward with the review process. The PUC has asked Judge O’Reilly to issue her decision by April 23rd.

In response, Margaret Levin, State Director for the Sierra Club North Star Chapter, issued the following statement:

“Building a massive pipeline that would significantly increase the amount of tar sands running through our state and threaten Minnesota’s communities, water, Tribal rights, and wild rice is not something that the PUC should be taking lightly. It’s troubling to see that they care more about the timeline Enbridge wants than about making sure Minnesotans are given a full accounting of the risks of building Line 3.”