A federal court will not stop the construction of the Line 3 pipeline replacement project.
The Red Lake and White Earth Nations, and environmental groups such as Earth Justice and the Sierra Club, filed a lawsuit in December seeking a preliminary injunction on a water permit issued by the US Army Corps of Engineers.
US District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly denied the request, saying the plaintiffs failed “to demonstrate a likelihood of success on the merits and that they will suffer irreparable harm.”
“The US District Court decision reinforces the sound scientific record of the Line 3 Replacement Project,” said the pro-pipeline group Jobs for Minnesotans.
“Our water and wetlands provide the ability to fish, hunt and harvest wild rice.,” said White Earth Tribal Chairman Mike Fairbanks.
“We have worked to protect the water for hundreds of years, and we will continue to do this work, despite the court’s decision.”
“We’re disturbed that the court would not at least temporarily stop Enbridge from destroying the water and wetlands we have used and depended on since time immemorial,” said Chairman Darrell G. Seki, Sr., of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians.
“But we will not stop fighting.”
