Enbridge updates Commissioners on progress of Line 3

The Red Lake County Commissioners met on September 26, 2017 at 10 a.m. with Dave Sorensen (acting chair), John Lerohl, Chuck Simpson and Ron Weiss present. There was one addition to the agenda, carried with a motion by Simpson, seconded by Weiss.

Jennifer Maleitzke, community relations consultant, and John Feely, both from Enbridge came before the commissioners with information on the Line 3 project. The last round of public hearings start on September 26th in Thief River to collect public input from 18 hearings in 9 different areas. There is a judge that will be presiding over the hearings and will give their opinion if the permit for Certificate of Need and Route Permit of the Line 3 replacement at the end to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), who makes the final decision sometime in April of 2018. Maleitzke and Feely answered questions and encouraged all commissioners to attend the hearing in TRF that was started that day. 

County Environmental officer, Kurt Casavan asked about some of the stuff he has been reading and asked for clarification. Feely answered Casavan’s enquiry on why the old line 3 should or shouldn’t be removed, stating that there are areas where it would be easy to remove the old line 3, but there are many areas where it is in between other pipelines and other utilities where removing it would be a risk. Enbridge, when they discontinue a line, cleans it thoroughly, leaving less than a gallon of hydrocarbons residue in the pipe. The pipes are maintained using cathodic protection (CP), a technique used to control the corrosion of a metal surface by making it the cathode of an electrochemical cell. A simple method of protection connects the metal to be protected to a more easily corroded “sacrificial metal” to act as the anode. With this type of protections, people shouldn’t see holes in the ground or cave ins for 500 years. Feely has also heard some concerns about water entering the old pipes because of least resistant nature of water, and that is not true either. If there is a problem, Enbridge is quick to repair any issues and has a good record of taking care of issues.

Feely also said the new pipes are thicker (1/2 inch) than the old Line 3 pipes (1/4 inch), which also means less power is needed to move the oil. Also a question on how deep the pipes are buried was asked, to which the answer was it varies depending on where the pipe is being installed. There is a 48 inch minimum, but land type, road ways, etc, may require more depth and pipes have been buried 8 to 48 feet deep if needed.

A show of support was asked of the Commissioners, and Lerohl made a motion to pass a resolution of support for the Line 3 replacement project with Simpson making the seconded, carried.

Sheriff Mitch Bernstein also visited with the board concerning the pipeline issue, informing the commissioners of plans in place should there be protests in the area. Though he expects that to be more of an issue in the Bemidji and eastern Minnesota.

Bernstein also needed a resolution of the review of the Red Lake County Emergency Operation Plan which has to be approved every four years by the commissioners. A motion was made by Lerohl, seconded by Weiss, carried.

A grant agreement with a 50/50 match also had to be approved for $14,061 for the EMPG grant. Simpson made a motion to the agreement, with Lerohl making the second, carried.

Casavan had a request to extend the permit for the Red Lake Falls Hybrid Project for a year, since they are not going to get started until 2018. They are in negotiations with the electric company. Weiss made the motion to extend the permit, Lerohl seconded, carried.

Expenditures and Minutes were approved.

The Red Lake County Highway Dept. requested the approval of the MN/Dot Master Partnership Plan & county resolution. Lerohl made the motion, Weiss seconded, carried.

Committee reports were given by Lerohl, who attended the retirement party for Deb Zaks, had a HRA meeting and 2 loans were approved for rehab, and reelection of officers. Lerohl also had a meeting at ICCC (Inter County Community Council) about programs they provide which include employment to help prisoners in jail find jobs when released, to help break the criminal cycle, the Energy Assistance program has had lots of response, and Weatherization program. Also discussed was the issue with insurance, maybe going to leave co-operative because of high increase in premiums, checking into it.

Sorensen and Flage attended an employee meeting. 

Auditor Bob Schmitz updated the commissioners on the State Auditor situation. The Budget was certified at 4.1% increase to the preliminary budget with a motion to by Weiss and Lerohl seconded. The next meeting is on October 10th at 10:00 a.m. at the Red Lake County Commissioners meeting room at the Courthouse.