A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news

Enbridge to pay big fine for water mishap

Minnesota regulators have ordered Enbridge to pay up to $3.32 million for allegedly violating state environmental law by piercing a groundwater aquifer during construction of the Line 3 oil pipeline.

Last Thursday, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources issued a restoration order and administrative penalty order against the Canadian-based company over the breach, which the agency says occurred in late January near the Clearbrook Terminal in Clearwater County.

The breach resulted in millions of gallons of groundwater flowing out of the aquifer, posing a risk to rare wetlands nearby, the...