Final Enbridge Pipeline Hearing Opened Today

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A crowd of people lining up for a key hearing on a Minnesota pipeline project appears about evenly divided between supporters and opponents.

Minnesota regulators have two days of hearings on Enbridge Energy's proposal to replace its deteriorating Line 3. The pipeline carries crude oil from Canada across North Dakota and Minnesota to a terminal in Wisconsin.

Ahead of Monday's meeting of the Public Utilities Commission in St. Paul, opponents held signs that read "No pipeline" while supporters carried signs that read "Minnesotans for Line 3."

Canada-based Enbridge says it needs to replace the 1960s-era Line 3 for safety reasons. The line is increasingly subject to corrosion and cracking and is operating at only about half its original capacity.

Tribal and climate change activists oppose it.