Enbridge's Line 3 project is becoming an issue in the 2020 presidential race

[TexasTowelie]

Democratic presidential candidate Jay Inslee has come out against construction of an oil pipeline proposed in northern Minnesota, elevating the project from a statewide issue to a national one in the race for the White House.

The Washington governor is the second candidate to take a stance on Enbridge’s Line 3, a $2.6 billion project that would cross the Mississippi Headwaters and tribal land over its 337-mile path in Minnesota. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders announced his opposition to the pipeline in January, a month before his presidential campaign began.

So far, the Line 3 project hasn’t drawn attention on the scale of the Keystone XL pipeline or the Dakota Access Pipeline, which sparked months of protests. But it has been a thorny political issue for DFLers in Minnesota, who are split over supporting the project. With Inslee’s announcement and Sanders’ opposition, Line 3 could become a litmus test of climate change policy and tribal solidarity in the Democratic primary. Several tribal governments have regularly challenged the project during the regulatory process.

On Line 3, Inslee and Sanders contrast with Minnesota’s own presidential hopeful, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who has not taken a clear position for or against the project. When asked what Klobuchar’s stance is on the pipeline and about dissent from tribal governments, her state director, Ben Hill, said only that the DFLer supports environmental review of the project to determine if Line 3 should be built. (State regulators have so far approved the pipeline, although a court recently ordered more environmental study.)

Read more: https://www.minnpost.com/environment/2019/07/enbridges-line-3-project-is-becoming-an-issue-in-the-2020-presidential-race/