Enbridge's Line 3 oil pipeline enters critical month in June

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — June will be a critical month for Enbridge Energy's Line 3 crude oil pipeline as the company resumes construction and opponents mobilize for large-scale protests and civil disobedience.

One prominent opponent, Winona LaDuke, founder of the Indigenous-based environmental group Honor the Earth, said she expects thousands of people from across the state and country to join the protests along the route in northern Minnesota.

Both sides are also waiting for a major ruling from the Minnesota Court of Appeals in June on a legal challenge by environmental and tribal groups that are seeking to overturn state regulators' approval of the project. The opponents also hold out hope that Democratic Gov. Tim Walz and President Joe Biden will intervene.

“I expect that unless Walz stops the project over 1,000 people are going to get arrested," LaDuke said.

Line 3 carries Canadian crude from Alberta. It clips a corner of North Dakota on its way across northern Minnesota to Enbridge's terminal in Superior, Wisconsin. Enbridge says the 1960s-era pipeline is deteriorating and can run at only about half its original capacity. It says the new line, made from stronger steel, will better protect the environment while restoring its capacity and ensuring reliable deliveries to U.S. refineries.

The Canadian and Wisconsin replacement segments are already carrying oil. The Minnesota segment is about 60% complete as a planned construction pause for the spring thaw ends June 1. Enbridge plans to finish the work and put the line into service in the fourth quarter, said Mike Fernandez, the Calgary-based company's chief communications officer.

That adds to the urgency for opponents, who are organizing a “Treaty People Gathering” for June 5-8 and preparing for mass arrests. More than...