St. Paul, Minnesota — On February 3rd, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (Commission) found the revised FEIS for the proposed Line 3 Replacement Project to be adequate. Additionally, the Commission approved and re-issued the Certificate of Need and Route Permit for the Line 3 Replacement Project.

 

The Certificate of Need and the Route Permit were previously issued by the Commission in June 2018. On June 3, 2019, the Minnesota Court of Appeals overturned the FEIS and remanded it back to the Commission because it did not sufficiently address the potential impact of an oil spill into the Lake Superior watershed.

 

The revised FEIS for the Line 3 Replacement Project has been available to the public since December 9, 2019, and a comment period concluded on January 16, 2020. On January 31, 2020, the PUC held a listening session to receive additional in-person comments.

 

On February 3, 2020, the Commission determined that the revised FEIS adequately addressed the potential impact of an oil spill into the Lake Superior watershed, as required by the Minnesota Court of Appeals, and subsequently re-issued the Certificate of Need and Route Permit as approved in 2018 with additional conditions related to funding for the Public Safety Escrow Trust. The Commission voted 3-1 in favor of all three questions.

 

The full record can be found online on the Commission’s eDocket system. Please visit the Commission’s website at mn.gov/puc, select Search eDockets, enter the year (14) and the docket number (916) for the Certificate of Need or enter the year (15) and the docket number (137) for the Route Permit, and select Search.

 

A recording of the proceedings is available online, please visit the Commission’s website at mn.gov/puc, select PUC Calendar, and then select the Archived Webcasts link on the left-hand side.

 

Please contact Will Seuffert, 651-201-2217 or will.seuffert@state.mn.us if you have any questions.

 

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