More Canadian crude could soon flow across northern Minn. under State Dept. plan

More Candian heavy crude from the Alberta oil sands region will soon be flowing through pipelines across northern Minnesota, even though the project remains under federal review.

The State Department has signed off on a temporary plan from Calgary-based Enbridge Energy to divert oil from its Alberta Clipper pipeline to an adjacent line before it crosses the U.S. border, and then return the oil to its original line once its in the country.

Enbridge has said the expansion is needed to meet the rising demand of U.S. and Canadian refineries for crude from western Canada. But environmental groups that oppose the project blasted the State Department's decision, calling it an end around the public process.

"We're doing that in order to meet customer demands while we work through the presidential permit process with the department of state on Line 67," said Enbridge spokeswoman Lorraine Little, who added that the switch is temporary.

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission has already signed off on a first phase of a planned expansion to the 1,000 mile Alberta Clipper line, from 450,000 barrels a day, to 570,000.

But the project has stalled for the past year at the State Department, which needs to amend its permit for the project. Enbridge has said the debate over the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, which also would carry Canadian heavy crude into the U.S., has bogged down its proposal.

Enbridge's plan would swap oil with an adjacent pipe known as Line 3, which is only using about half its capacity. Enbridge has proposed a separate $7.5 billion project to replace Line 3. The company is building interconnections between the two lines on both sides of the border.

"We think this is a slap in the face to the public, citizens, and environmental groups and Native American tribes that have been involved in this process, and thought that it would play out the way that it was laid out in public notice last year," said Marc Fink, a Duluth-based attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity. He said his and other groups were "really taken by surprise by this bait and switch move at the last minute."

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission is currently weighing a second proposed expansion of Alberta Clipper, from 570,000 barrels a day to 800,000 a day.

An administrative law judge signaled his approval of the plan in June. The Commission is expected to vote on the need for the expansion next week.