Enbridge Energy will pony up $2.8 million after it breached an Aitkin County aquifer during construction of its Line 3 oil pipeline.

In a news release Monday, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources said it reached a settlement with Enbridge requiring the Calgary, Alberta-based company to:

Fund $1.2 million in environmental projects selected by the DNR “to benefit natural resources.”
Pay $300,000 in civil penalties.atiki
Fund $100,000 for ongoing monitoring at the site.
Provide $1.2 million in financial assurance to address any future effects from the breach.

The DNR said Enbridge breached the Moose Lake aquifer near Swatara in Aitkin County during construction of its Line 3 pipeline. Enbridge found an upwelling of groundwater there in August 2022, nearly a year after construction on the 340-mile Minnesota segment of Line 3 came online in 2021.

The construction of Line 3 caused three other aquifer breaches in Minnesota: Enbridge’s Clearbrook Terminal, LaSalle Creek in Hubbard County and just west of the Fond du Lac Reservation. Enbridge paid $11 million in penalties, ongoing monitoring, environmental projects and financial assurances for those breaches.

Compared to those breaches, which initially saw groundwater flow at 100 to 300 gallons per minute, the DNR said the Moose Lake aquifer breach saw “considerably lower” rates of 10 to 15 gallons per minute.

The DNR said Enbridge worked to “stabilize the site,” but that the state agency determined it was not possible to fully stop the flow of groundwater “because of the highly challenging peatland terrain and very complex hydrology,” and that trying to do so “would result in unacceptable damage to the natural resources in the area.”

“Enbridge worked cooperatively with the DNR to identify the best means of protecting area resources, and the agreed solution was to diffuse, not stop, the flow at this site,” Enbridge spokesperson Juli Kellner said in a statement. “The required repair and restoration was completed in December 2023. Ongoing monitoring continues. Repair plans for all the groundwater sites were implemented immediately upon approval and have been successfully executed consistent with environmental laws and regulatory oversight.”

When the Minnesota segment of Line 3 came online in 2021, it was the last segment in the 1,000-mile pipeline from Alberta to Enbridge’s Superior, Wis., terminal. It faced stiff opposition from environmental groups and Indigenous bands who said the pipeline is unneeded, at risk of an oil spill, worsens climate change and violates Indigenous and treaty rights. Its supporters argued the project was needed to replace an aging pipeline and provide much-needed construction jobs.

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