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.
The $2.6 billion replacement pipeline would carry Canadian crude from Alberta oil across northern Minnesota to Enbridge's terminal in Superior, Wisconsin, which lies just south of Lake Superior. The current Line 3, which was built in the 1960s, is increasingly subject to corrosion and cracking, and runs at only about half its original capacity for safety reasons.
The commission earlier this year gave a green light for construction of Line 3, which was separate from its approval of the environmental impact statement. Project opponents and the state Commerce Department are appealing that approval separately, raising different legal issues. Meanwhile, regulators are still considering several permit applications.