MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - An administrative law judge says Minnesota regulators should approve Enbridge Energy's proposal for replacing its aging Line 3 crude oil pipeline only if it follows the existing route rather than the company's preferred route.
Administrative Law Judge Ann O'Reilly recommended Monday that the Public Utilities Commission choose the existing route, which avoids sensitive areas in the Mississippi River headwaters region where American Indians harvest wild rice and hold treaty rights. The proposal has drawn opposition because the line would carry Canadian tar sands crude.
The commission is expected to make its final decision in June.
Line 3 is a 1,097-mile crude oil pipeline extends from Edmonton, Alberta to Superior, Wisconsin. It was built in the 1960s. Alberta-based Enbridge says a replacement is needed to ensure reliable deliveries of crude to Midwestern refineries. It has said proposed route alternatives are unworkable.
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