Enbridge to pay $7 million for Line 3 damage

Enbridge will pay more than $7 million to address environmental damage from building the Line 3 oil pipeline across northern Minnesota last year, and it now faces a criminal charge related to a breached aquifer where groundwater continues to flow.

State environmental regulators, the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced the new penalties and agreements Thursday. They said they want to hold the company accountable for violating state and tribal water and environmental rules, but some also acknowledged limited authority to act.

The new payments are in addition to the $3 million the Canadian oil pipeline operator was forced to pay in a previous enforcement action related to some of the same problems, bringing total payments to more than $11 million. The new payments, which go to the tribe and two state agencies, include fines but mostly will go to environmental projects and set-aside financial assurances to cover future work.

https://www.startribune.com/enbridge-will-pay-7-million-faces-criminal-charge-after-line-3-pipeline-breached-minnesota-aquifer/600216580/