Enbridge Energy Partners received mostly welcome news Tuesday from the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission.
Commissioners unanimously voted in support of certifying the need for a section of oil pipeline the company plans to build between Clearbrook, Minn., and Superior. The 1,000 mile Alberta Clipper Pipeline would carry crude oil and bitumen extracted from tar-sands deposits and transported to a hub in Hardisty, Alberta.
The Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy has publicly opposed the project, claiming that the Canadian oil operations are too energy-intensive and are inconsistent with the state's professed energy efficiency goals.
Nevertheless, the Public Utilities Commission also approved a route for the new pipeline with one exception.
Enbridge initially proposed to cut through a portion of the Fond du Lac Reservation, but the company has not been successful in negotiating a price to pay the reservation for a few miles of easement rights. Alternatively, Enbridge had proposed routing the pipeline completely around the reservation -- a move that would lengthen the pipeline by about five miles -- but the commission ordered the company to resume negotiations with tribal officials and report back on the progress in 30 days.
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If all goes according to plan, Enbridge aims to have the pipeline operational by mid-2010.
