Enbridge says Line 3 is up and ready for use

Enbridge announced this week that it has completed its Line 3 crude oil pipeline replacement project across Minnesota. It expected to begin running tar sands oil from Edmonton to Superior today.

The 1,097-mile-long pipeline has a thicker-walled pipe and Enbridge said the "completion ensures a safe, reliable supply of North American crude oil to U.S. refineries."

"Line 3 was developed and executed with the most state-of-the-art approach to design, construction and environmental management," said Al Monaco, Enbridge president and CEO. "We're also very proud of the relationship of trust we've built with communities along the right of way in both Canada and the United States. Our goal is to continuously live up to the trust that all of our stakeholders have placed in us."

The 337-mile Minnesota segment of Line 3 restores the full-pipeline capacity of 760,000 barrels per day. The project continues to meet with opposition. Nearly 900 people have been arrested during protests at pipeline construction sites, which included a stretch across Carlton County. A camp for protest organization was set up near Big Lake and featured in an earlier Pine Knot story.

According to a press release from Enbridge, the project has employed more than 3,000 workers in northern Minnesota. Enbridge argued that the existing Line 3, built in the 1960s, needed to be replaced because it is corroding and needs extensive maintenance, and to increase capacity.

The Minnesota Supreme Court and the state court of appeals recently delivered opinions upholding state regulators' approval of the project. Other court challenges are still pending.