In November 2020 the Line 3 Replacement Pipeline tar sands oil export project received final permit approval to finish construction in Minnesota. The new pipeline, one of the largest infrastructure projects in North American history, has faced numerous obstacles and accidents, including a worker run over and killed by a forklift in December 2020. Protests and direct actions stopping construction and blockading roadways have occurred almost daily, leading to nearly 150 arrests of water protectors by the end of February 2021.
Since 2014, Canadian energy giant Enbridge has sought to upgrade Line 3, eager to maximize its capacity to import 915,000 barrels of tar sands oil per day over the U.S. border. Line 3 is an already existing pipeline which transports particularly dangerous types of oil products produced from the tar sands in Alberta, Canada into the US to refineries in Superior, Wisconsin. The now-deteriorating pipeline was originally built in 1968, running from Edmonton through North Dakota and Minnesota to Wisconsin, and has been the source of numerous oil spills. In 1991, Line 3 ruptured and spilled over 1.7 million gallons of oil, making it the largest inland oil spill in U.S. history. Line 3 goes across 337 miles of Minnesota land, 200 bodies of water, nearly 800 acres of wetlands. The new route goes through Indigenous Anishinaabe treaty territory designated in agreements signed in 1842, 1854, and 1855.
Environmental advocacy groups, the White Earth Band of Ojibwe and Red Lake Band of Chippewa have sought to stop pipeline construction in court, but Enbridge won a ruling at the Minnesota Court of Appeals in early February 2021.
From 2017 to present, Unicorn Riot has been reporting on the resistance to Line 3. This page holds some of the latest videos and all of the Line 3 stories.
Latest Line 3 stories
Enbridge Ordered to Shutdown Line 5 and Pay Bad River Band $5.1M
Senator Amy Klobuchar’s Speech Disrupted by Water Protectors
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison Speech Disrupted by Water Protectors
Over 50 Line 3 Pipeline Protesters Arrested Outside MN Governor’s Residence
Police Break Up Ceremony and Indigenous-Led #StopLine3 Occupation
Hundreds March from Governor Residence, Urge Chase Bank Defund Line 3
First Trial from Treaty People Gathering Ends in Acquittal
Line 3 Opponent Sentenced to Thirty Days in Jail
Enbridge Spills 10,000 Gallons of Line 3 Drilling Fluid
Line 3 Fusion Center Data Declared Secret
Judge Orders Sheriff to Halt Harassment of Line 3 Resistance Camp
Water Protectors Occupy Work Sites and Lock Down to Line 3 Pipeline Construction
Hubbard County Barricades Private Property, Imprisons Water Protectors
Indigenous-Led Blockades Occupy Line 3 Pipeline Sites
Rising Up to the Heat: ‘Treaty People Gathering’ Resists Line 3 Pipeline
Activists Serve Denver Wells Fargo Eviction Notice
Denver Earth Day Celebration Centers Line 3 Pipeline
Appealing Line 3 Pipeline: Supply and Demand at Root of Hearing
Caravan Disrupts Line 3 Construction Routes, Carlton County Triggers Backlash
Treaty Rights Asserted During Creation of White Earth Camp
70 Water Protectors Cited, 1 Arrested During Line 3 Commemorative Rally
Bipod and Car Blockade Jam Up Line 3 Construction
Three Lock Down Inside Line 3 Pipeline For 6+ Hours
Lockdown to Keep it in the Ground: Line 3 Resistance
Court of Appeals Denies Motion to Stop Line 3
Opposition to Line 3 Mounts
Resistance to Line 3: Direct Actions Aim to Stop Construction
Enbridge Line 3 Construction Blocked by Activists in Northern Minnesota
Protests After Permits for Line 3 Oil Pipeline Approved
‘No KKKops, No Pipelines’ Banner Dropped in Minneapolis
“Divest from Climate Change!” Chase Bank Branch Protested on Opening Day
March to Protect The Sacred on Indigenous People’s Day 2019
Hundreds Rally in Opposition to Line 3 Tar Sands Pipeline in Minnesota
Direct Action in Minnesota as Line 3 Pipeline Approval Reversed
Touring Activists Build Momentum Toward Climate Justice
Multi-Agency Task Force Prepares “Rules of Engagement” For Line 3 Protests
‘Valve Turners’ Shut Down Enbridge Oil Pipelines in Minnesota
Arts, Culture, and Hip Hop Resist Line 3 as Lawsuits Against Approval Continue
Minnesota Police Train at Military Base as Line 3 Pipeline Protests Escalate
Judge Accepts Water Protectors’ Climate Change Necessity Defense
Line 3 Oil Pipeline Approved By Minnesota Regulators
As Line 3 Oil Pipeline Decision Looms, Indigenous Resistance Increases
Divest or Die: “Smart Wars” Artists Depict Battle to Protect Earth
Interfaith Community Delivers Letter of Line 3 Opposition to Minnesota Government Offices
Minnesota Public Utilities Commission Requests Line 3 Schedule Change
Rally Against Line 3 Minnesota Pipe Yards
#StopLine3: Cedar Avenue Shut Down in Memory of Dennis Banks
Resistance to Line 3 Pipeline Seeks to Save Sacred Manoomin
Direct Action Ramps Up Resistance to Line 3
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