DNR: More groundwater released by pipeline aquifer ruptures

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota environmental regulators say damage to the state’s public groundwater resources from missteps during construction of the Line 3 oil pipeline is more severe than previously known. The state Department of Natural Resources says Enbridge Energy crews ruptured three groundwater aquifers while building the 340-mile pipeline across northern Minnesota last year. The DNR says the company faces expanded sanctions. Together the punctures led to nearly 300 million gallons of groundwater flowing to the surface, with the most serious breach occurring near the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Reservation in St. Louis County. That rupture alone discharged more than 200 million gallons of groundwater, and it continues to flow out.