Minnesota to Open Meetings on Enbridge Pipeline

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota regulators will open a series of 22 public meetings on an oil pipeline project that opponents have dubbed the next Dakota Access pipeline struggle.

Enbridge Energy is seeking approval to replace its aging Line 3 pipeline across northern Minnesota. The meetings will give the public a chance to comment on the draft environmental review, which was released last month. The first two meetings are scheduled for Tuesday.

Enbridge built Line 3 in the 1960s to carry Canadian crude across North Dakota and Minnesota to its terminal in Superior, Wisconsin. Calgary, Alberta-based Enbridge proposed the $7.5 billion replacement because the pipeline now runs at just over half its original capacity.

As with Dakota Access, Line 3's opponents include tribal groups that say oil spills would threaten their vital resources.