Regardless of which side Minnesota landowners are on regarding the Enbridge Line 3 Replacement Project, most agree they should have the ultimate say over what happens on their land. In June, Enbridge proposed the Landowner Choice Program, and on Sept. 11 the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission was to meet to firm up conditions on the program as part of the pipeline's final permit.
Currently, Minnesota landowners have two removal options as chosen by Enbridge: full removal or no removal. Meanwhile, landowner groups in Canada had a variety of choices from which to negotiate. Also, Enbridge isn't allowing Minnesotans to renegotiate terms down the road, while Canadians retain this right. This discrepancy alone deserves in-depth discussion.
Enbridge's Landowner Choice Program carries additional concerns. It doesn't provide a common-sense approach to permitting, permits might not be submitted jointly, and landowners aren't guaranteed a review of applications before they're submitted. Landowner decisions must be made on a timeline dictated by Enbridge, decisions are binding, and Enbridge is granted permission to alter land title after decisions are made.
In addition, landowners aren't guaranteed reimbursement for legal advice obtained while making these decisions. What's more, the program doesn't grant landowners the ability to access the Public Utilities Commission's complaint process should that need arise. Lastly, as a company-proposed and -implemented program, no precedent has been set regarding pipeline removal in our state; thus, we'll continue to revisit this issue as pipelines age.
With limited removal choices and questions surrounding landowner protection during the decision-making process, a person wonders if this is actually a landowner program.
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Colleen Bernu
Cloquet
