Canadian pipeline company Enbridge wants a Presidential Permit to expand its "Line 67" from Hardesty, Alberta to Superior, WI. That line was originally authorized for about 500,000 barrels per day capacity. Enbridge is seeking to expand the pipeline's physical design capacity by modifying pumping operations to achieve a design basis capacity of 880,000 barrels per day -- larger than the Keystone XL Pipeline at 830,000 barrels per day.
The U.S. Department of State is conducting a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement process as part of a Presidential Permit application and approval process to address the planned increase in the capacity of this pipeline.
Below the fold is a notice published in today's Federal Register extending the comment
period on the SEIS process until May 13, 2013.
I originally published a diary identifying this expansion and its potential connection to establishing new and expanded crude oil shipping on the Great Lakes originating at Superior, WI. That original diary contained the original Federal Register notice below the fold.
This expanded pipeline expansion by Enbridge is also headed to midwest-area refineries that are increasing the proportion of heavy sour crude use in the form of Alberta tar sands synthetic high sulfur crude. For example, the BP Whiting, IN Refinery is going from a utilization of about 30--35% tar sands heavy sour crude to a 90+% utilization with some associated implications for wastewater discharges to Lake Michigan.
Also, everyone should be aware that Line 67 and other Enbridge Lines cross the Red Lake Nations Tribal Lands without authorization and RLN is aggressively pursuing Enbridge's ongoing trespass on RLN tribal lands.
Send an email to the Department of State in Washington, DC, Re: Pipeline Capacity Expansion of Line 67 (Enbridge)
[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 86 (Friday, May 3, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Page 26101]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-10563]
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DEPARTMENT OF STATE
[Public Notice 8311]
Scoping Period Extended for the Proposed Enbridge Energy
Partners, Line 67 Capacity Expansion Project
April 30, 2013.
AGENCY: Department of State.
ACTION: Notice of decision to extend the scoping period for the
proposed Enbridge Energy Partners, Line 67 Capacity Expansion Project
to May 13, 2013.
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SUMMARY: The Department has decided to extend by two weeks the scoping
period for the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the
proposed Enbridge Energy, Limited Partnership (Enbridge), Line 67
Capacity Expansion Project. Scoping will now end at midnight EDT on May
13th, 2013.
The Department received a Presidential Permit application from
Enbridge to amend the August 3, 2009 Presidential Permit issued to
Enbridge by the Department authorizing the construction, operation, and
maintenance of the Line 67 Pipeline across the U.S.-Canada border.
Enbridge requests an amendment to its permit in order to operate Line
67 up to its full design capacity of 880,000 barrels per day (bpd) of
crude oil with an average annual capacity of 800,000 bpd of heavy
crude.
DATES: The Department invites interested agencies, organizations, and
members of the public to submit comments or suggestions to assist in
identifying significant environmental issues, measures that might be
adopted to reduce environmental impacts, and in determining the
appropriate scope of the SEIS. The public scoping period began with the
publication of a Notice of Intent to Prepare a Supplemental
Environmental Impact Statement in the Federal Register on March 14,
2013 and will continue until May 13, 2013. Written, electronic, and
oral comments will be given equal weight and the Department will
consider all comments received or postmarked by, May 13, 2013 in
defining the scope of the SEIS. Comments received or postmarked after
that date may be considered to the extent practicable.
Public scoping periods are designed to provide opportunities to
offer comments on the environmental review for the proposed project.
Interested individuals and groups are encouraged to present comments on
the environmental issues they believe should be addressed in the SEIS
consistent with NEPA and its implementing regulations.
During this public scoping period, the Department also plans to use
the scoping process to help identify consulting parties and historic
preservation issues for consideration consistent with Section 106 of
the National Historic Preservation Act and its implementing regulations
(36 CFR part 800).
ADDRESSES: Written comments or suggestions on the scope of the SEIS
should be addressed to: Genevieve Walker, OES/EQT Room 2726, U.S.
Department of State, 2201 C Street NW., Washington, DC 20520. Comments
may be submitted electronically to EnbridgeLine67permit@state.gov.
Public comments may be posted on the Web site identified below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the proposed
project or to receive a copy of the draft SEIS when it is issued,
contact Genevieve Walker at the address listed in the ADDRESSES section
of this notice by electronic or regular mail as listed above, or by
telephone (202) 647-9798 or by fax at (202) 647-5947.
Project details and environmental information on the Enbridge
Energy, Limited Partnership application for a Presidential Permit, as
well as the Presidential Permit process, are downloadable from the
following Web site: http://www.state.gov/...
Dated: April 30, 2013.
George N. Sibley,
Director, Office of Environmental Quality and Transboundary Issues,
Department of State.
[FR Doc. 2013-10563 Filed 5-2-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-09-P
11:16 AM PT: If my mapping skills are not somehow erroneous go to
http://goo.gl/...
to view the place where the pipeline corridor goes through Red Lake Nations lands.
The pipeline corridor was built between two lakes and is visible if
you zoom out