Enbridge to pay big fine for water mishap

Minnesota regulators have ordered Enbridge to pay up to $3.32 million for allegedly violating state environmental law by piercing a groundwater aquifer during construction of the Line 3 oil pipeline.

Last Thursday, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources issued a restoration order and administrative penalty order against the Canadian-based company over the breach, which the agency says occurred in late January near the Clearbrook Terminal in Clearwater County.

The breach resulted in millions of gallons of groundwater flowing out of the aquifer, posing a risk to rare wetlands nearby, the DNR says. The agency also referred the matter to the Clearwater County attorney for possible misdemeanor criminal charges.

“Enbridge’s actions are clear violations of state law and also of public trust,” DNR Commissioner Sarah Strommen said in a news release. “This never should have happened, and we are holding the company fully accountable.”

Enbridge said it is reviewing the DNR order and penalty. A spokesperson said the company is implementing a corrective action plan and shares a strong desire to protect Minnesota waters and the environment.

In construction plans Enbridge submitted during the permitting process for Line 3, the company indicated that it would dig a trench 8-10 feet deep for the pipeline near the Clearbrook Terminal, which is located near calcareous fens — a unique type of wetland that relies on mineral-rich groundwater, said Barb Naramore, deputy DNR commissioner.

“Based on those plans, we determined that there was no potential for adverse impacts to the fens because the excavation at that depth was not going to interfere with the groundwater flow to the fens,” she said.

Instead, the company allegedly dug a trench about 18 feet deep and drove sheet piling 28 feet down, Naramore said. That pierced the soil layer atop an artesian aquifer — one that contains groundwater under pressure — resulting in a continuous flow of groundwater into the trench, she said.

The agency estimates that the breach has resulted in the unauthorized release of about 24.2 million gallons of groundwater from the aquifer.