Enbridge fails to meet aquifer cleanup deadline

Enbridge has failed to meet the Oct. 15 deadline for cleaning up the site of an aquifer ruptured during construction of its controversial Line 3 oil pipeline, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reported Friday.

Meanwhile, the DNR is investigating two other sites where the company may have caused additional groundwater damage, the agency said in a statement. The DNR did not identify the locations of the other sites.

State regulators will require compensation for the loss of groundwater during the additional time it takes to stop the groundwater flow, the DNR said. And Enbridge also will be held accountable for any other violations.

While working on the pipeline in January, crews from the Calgary, Alberta-based Enbridge dug too deeply and punctured an artesian aquifer near Clearbrook, Minn. The damage caused the aquifer to leak at least 24 million gallons of groundwater, threatening to dry up a nearby rare and delicate wetland area called a calcareous fen.

Read more: https://www.startribune.com/enbridge-fails-to-meet-aquifer-cleanup-deadline/600107200/