U.S. State Department Holds Public Hearing On Enbridge Pipeline Expansion

The U.S. State Department held a public hearing in Bemidji on Tuesday on its draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement of a pipeline expansion across the U.S. – Canadian border. Canadian firm Enbridge Energy needs a Presidential Permit to send up to 800,000 barrels of oil per day across the border through its Line 67 or Alberta Clipper pipeline.

Enbridge spokeswoman Shannon Gustafson said they’ve only been able to send an average of 450,000 barrels of oil per day across the border by switching oil back and forth between two pipelines.

“Without the permit, Enbridge will not have the ability to utilize the available capacity on our mainline system,” Gustafson said. “So if it’s not granted, this will result in increased instances where Enbridge will be unable to transport the volumes of crude oil requested by our shippers.”

Gustafson said that means their customers would resort to using trucks or rail to ship that oil. She said increasing the capacity through a three-mile segment at the border would mean more oil being sent through Minnesota and Wisconsin.

“If any of that crude is going to Minnesota, it would veer south from Clearbrook on Minnesota Pipeline Company pipelines,” she said. “But, once it hits Superior, it would head south on our existing pipelines through Wisconsin.”

Marty Cobenais, member of the Red Lake Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and North Star Chapter of the Sierra Club, said there’s no need to pump more oil across the border, native lands and sensitive environmental areas.

“We have enough oil. Oil consumption is going down in the United States,” Cobenais said. “The government has actually made it so that we can export oil so we are not…having a shortage of oil at all.”

The U.S. State Department said it found no significant environmental impacts with Enbridge’s proposed expansion. Public comment on the draft environmental statement for the project will be accepted until March 27. If approved, Gustafson said they could begin pumping more oil across the border later this year. People can make comments online at www.regulations.gov.