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Owners of pipeline that ruptured near Little Falls plan to expand
Staff Writer LITTLE FALLS - Minnesota Pipe Line Co. is looking at a $300 million expansion and construction project that would involve installing a new pipeline that would have the capacity to hold up to 350,000 barrels of crude oil a day.
The company, owners of the pipeline that ruptured June 27 south of Little Falls that spilled 3,200 barrels of crude oil, had several representatives attend two public hearings Tuesday at the Little Falls Ballroom, one at 1 p.m. and the second at 6 p.m., to inform residents of the proposed MinnCan pipeline project and to gather public input.
The company submitted two permit applications to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission in January. According to the PUC, the company needs a certificate of need permit that determines whether the proposed pipeline is needed and is in the public interest. It also needs a pipeline routing permit to determine the location of the pipeline that considers the impact it would have on the people and the environment.
At the public hearings, representatives from the Minnesota Department of Commerce were present as well as an administrative law judge.
Karen Finstad Hammel, assistant attorney general who represented the Minnesota Department of Commerce at the hearings, said the department's role in the hearing process is to act as an advisory board to the PUC. There are 16 public hearings that are set in 14 counties on the proposed pipeline project. When all the hearings are completed, the law judge will make a recommendation to the PUC on the project.
Eric Swanson of Minnesota Pipe Line Co. said the company is proposing to install a 24-inch diameter crude oil pipeline that will be 295 miles long. The pipeline will begin in Clearbrook in northern Minnesota and end at the Flint Hills Refinery in Rosemount.
Patty Dunn, spokesperson for Minnesota Pipe Line Co., said if the project is approved the company would only use the pipeline for a flow of 165,000 barrels a day. She said the 350,000 barrels a day would be the pipeline's full capacity.
Swanson said the pipeline would be built to meet the demand. He said the pipeline would allow the company to expand its crude oil production from Canada to Minnesota to serve the Midwest. Swanson said the existing pipelines are at maximum crude oil capacity.
If the proposed project is approved, construction on the pipeline would begin in 2007.
JENNIFER STOCKINGER can be reached at jennifer.stockinger@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5851.
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