A judge has approved Enbridge Energy's pipeline plan. | Stock Photo
A judge has approved Enbridge Energy's pipeline plan. | Stock Photo
An administrative law judge ruled last week on approved Enbridge Energy's plan to replace the 337-mile segment of Line 3 of its pipeline, according to KNSI Radio.
The judge ruled that the state's pollution regulators had properly considered the impact of the construction. Both environmental and tribal groups have been fighting the project, the news media reported.
Administrative Law Judge James LaFave ruled that the groups failed to prove that the project would have a permanent impact on water quality and wetlands. The pipeline will cross 212 streams and it will impact more than 700 acres of wetland in the state, the news media reported.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has until mid-November to decide whether or not to issue a final water quality permit, according to the news media.
The challengers argue that the Canadian tar sands oil the new pipeline is supposed to carry will aggravate climate change and will threaten the state's waters where Native Americans harvest wild rice, the news media reported.
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