The Associated Press
Friday, September 17, 2021
Al Beesley, Senior Safety Coordinator, leans on some pipe while waiting for a press conference to start with Alberta Premier Rachel Notley during a tour of Enbridge's Line 3 pipeline replacement project in Hardisty Alta., on Thursday, Aug.10, 2017.
ST. PAUL, MINN. -- Minnesota regulators have ordered Enbridge to pay more than US$3 million for allegedly violating state environmental law by piercing a groundwater aquifer during construction of the Line 3 oil pipeline replacement.
The state Department of Natural Resources said Enbridge, while working near Clearbrook in January, dug too deeply into the ground and pierced an artesian aquifer, which resulted in a 24 million gallon groundwater leak.
"Enbridge's actions are a clear violation of state law, and also of the public trust," said Barb Naramore, DNR deputy commissioner. "That is why we are using all of the tools in our authority to address the situation."
Enbridge said in a statement Friday that it was reviewing the DNR's order and would work with the agency on a resolution.
"Enbridge has been working with the DNR since June to provide the required site information and approval of a corrective action plan which is currently being implemented," the Calgary, Alberta-based company said. "We share a strong desire to protect Minnesota waters and the environment and we are committed to restoration."
It wasn't until mid-June that the DNR discovered something was wrong after speaking to independent construction monitors who had observed water pooling in the pipeline trench near Clearbrook.
The DNR has ordered Enbridge to put $2.7 million into escrow for restoration and damage to nearby wetlands. Enbridge is also required to pay $300,000 to mitigate the lost groundwater and $250,000 for long-term monitoring of the wetlands.
Enbridge's 340-mile (547-kilometre) Line 3 replacement pipeline will carry Canadian crude across northern Minnesota to the company's terminal in Superior, Wisconsin. The pipeline, opposed by environmental groups and some Ojibwe tribes, is nearly complete. The project is replacing a deteriorating line built in the 1960s that can only run at half capacity.
Enbridge fined for breaching Minnesota environmental laws during Line 3 construction
CALGARY – Enbridge Inc. has been fined for breaching Minnesota environmental laws during the construction of its Line 3 pipeline replacement.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has ordered Enbridge to pay $3.32 million for breaching an aquifer containing groundwater during construction of a trench near the company’s Clearbrook Terminal.
The department says Enbridge did not follow the construction plans it had originally provided, and instead dug the trench deeper than proposed. It says the resulting breach of the aquifer caused an unauthorized release of 24.2 million gallons of water, which has had to be pumped, treated and released to a nearby wetland.
The department says it has also referred the matter to the Clearwater County Attorney for criminal prosecution. It says Minnesota law makes it a crime to appropriate waters of the state without a permit.
Enbridge says it has been working with Minnesota since June on the issue and has implemented a corrective action plan to halt the flow of groundwater. It says it is committed to restoration and will work closely with the agency on a resolution.
Enbridge’s Line 3 pipeline replacement is expected to be in service by the end of the year. The $9.3-billion project is expected to add about 370,000 barrel per day of crude oil export capacity from Western Canada into the U.S.
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