ST. PAUL -- A judicial panel overturned a state commission decision that a crude oil pipeline across Minnesota is needed, at least until the project's environmental impact can be studied.
It was not immediately clear what impact Monday's Minnesota Appeals Court decision could have on construction of the Sandpiper pipeline.
The decision means that the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission cannot issue a "certificate of need" to a subsidiary of Enbridge Energy Partners until the environmental study is complete. The PUC on June 5 voted to issue the certificate that the court now has overturned.
There was no immediate response from Enbridge or the PUC about how the ruling will impact the pipeline construction timetable or whether Monday's decision will be appealed to the state Supreme Court.
If built, the Sandpiper would transport crude oil through North Dakota and across northern Minnesota. The pipeline would deliver up to 375,000 barrels a day to the Enbridge hub in Superior, Wis.
ADVERTISEMENT
Friends of the Headwaters filed the lawsuit asking that the certificate of need be delayed.
The three-judge Appeals Court panel agreed with the friends organization, saying that state law requires the "rigorous and detailed" environmental review to come before any major actions are taken on the project.
State law requires that to "ensure its use in the decision-making process, the environmental impact statement shall be prepared as early as practical in the formulation of an action,” the judges wrote
The U.S. Supreme Court has made similar decisions, the Appeals Court ruling said.
The PUC planned to conduct the environmental review as part of its study of the precise route of the pipeline.
Normally, the PUC considers the need for a project and the route of a pipeline at the same time. But for Sandpiper, commissioners opted to approve the need first, then take up the specific route.
Several similar alternative routes were part of the certificate of need process, although not a specific one.
After the June 5 pipeline approval, PUC officials said multiple hearings would be scheduled, including some in northern Minnesota, to get information about the pipeline's impact.
ADVERTISEMENT
