Oil has been flowing through the completed pipeline for months now, but the White Earth Band of Ojibwe — Minnesota's largest Native American tribe with about 20,000 members — continues fighting the project in court, and through extraordinary surveillance efforts.
State regulators ordered Enbridge to stop the groundwater flows and restore the sites. The company already has paid more than $3 million for the violations, and could face additional penalties.
Over the course of construction, around 900 people were arrested during protests. Many are still facing charges ranging from trespassing, a misdemeanor, to felony theft.
The Herald and others in the company have posted numerous pieces about Line 3, originating from our own reporters, from our opinion writers, from companies with whom we have content-sharing agreements and from oh-so-many letter-writers.
As reported earlier this week by Forum News Service, the Minnesota segment is the last portion of the 1,000-mile line that stretches from Alberta, Canada, to Superior, Wisconsin. It is expected to transport nearly 32 million gallons of oil per day.
With the announcement of the substantial completion of the Line 3 replacement project, pipeline safety is a concern for many in Minnesota. Enbridge this week addressed the concerns in a virtual open house.
On Wednesday, the Canada-based company Enbridge announced Line 3 would be in service starting Friday, Oct. 1. Pipeline proponents and opponents both made statements in response to the news.
The Minnesota Environmental Partnership, a network of 70 nonprofits, held a digital meeting Thursday to discuss recent issues with Enbridge's Line 3 replacement project.
