St. Paul, Minnesota — The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (Commission) is providing several methods of submitting public comments on the Revised Final Environmental Impact Statement on the Line 3 Replacement Project.

 

On October 8, 2019, consistent with the June 3, 2019 decision by the Minnesota Court of Appeals, the Commission issued an order that found the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the proposed Line 3 Replacement Project to be inadequate because it did not sufficiently address the potential impact of an oil spill into the Lake Superior watershed. The order requested that the Minnesota Department of Commerce revise the FEIS to include an analysis of the potential impact of an oil spill into the Lake Superior watershed, and to submit a revised FEIS to the Commission within 60 days.

 

In accordance with the Commission’s October 8 Order, the Department issued the revised FEIS for the Line 3 Replacement Project today December 9, 2019.

 

The comment period for initial comments will be open until January 6, 2020; and the reply comment period will be open until January 16, 2020. Interested members of the public can submit written comments by visiting mn.gov/puc, and then selecting the link Comment on the main menu to connect to the public comment page.

 

The agency also invites the public to submit comments in-person, to an administrative law judge from the Office of Administrative Hearings. This in-person public comment opportunity will be on Thursday, December 19, 2019 at the Radisson Hotel Duluth-Harborview, 505 W Superior Street in Duluth. There will be two sessions: 1:00-4:00 pm and 6:00-9:00 pm.

 

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