Mille Lacs Band plans Sandpiper public hearing: Asks state to postpone June 5 decision on allowing pipeline

ONAMIA, Minn. -- The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe plans its own public hearing next Friday on the proposed Sandpiper crude oil pipeline -- the same day the state will decide whether to allow construction of the controversial project.

Dissatisfied with what tribal officials call a lack of cooperation from the state of Minnesota, the Mille Lacs Band has organized a hearing regarding the pipeline, which Enbridge Energy plans to use in order to transport oil more than 600 miles from wells in the Bakken region to refineries in Superior, Wis.

Mille Lacs Band Chief Executive Melanie Benjamin sent a letter dated May 27 imploring the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission to postpone deliberations scheduled for June 5.

http://www.bemidjipioneer.com/news/local/3755050-mille-lacs-band-plans-sandpiper-public-hearing-asks-state-postpone-june-5