US Army Corps to require new Enbridge Line 5 review but defends Line 3 permit

摘要

The US Army Corps of Engineers delivered a mixed bag for Enbridge's contested US oil pipeline projects this week in requiring an environmental impact statement for the Line 5 tunnel replacement but defending its decision not to require such a review for the Line 3 expansion.The new Line 5 review could delay startup by a year to 2025,analysts said.The project is set to replace an underwater crossing on the aging 540,000 b/d pipeline that carries crude and propane to Michigan and Ontario.Katie Bays,managing director of FiscalNote Markets,predicts that given the wave of anti-pipeline activism,the Army Corps might default to requiring an EIS in most pipeline reviews going forward rather than the less-stringent environmental assessment."Facing litigation,the Corps most likely believes that cases like this,where the project is controversial,constitute a'significant'action requiring the EIS,"Bays said of Line 5."Ultimately,despite the near term delay,the Corps decision to invest time now in the EIS likely will save time later."