Oil pipeline foes protest Enbridge's Line 3 in Minnesota

Environmental and tribal groups opposed to Enbridge Energy’s ongoing effort to replace its aging Line 3 crude oil pipeline have gathered near the headwaters of the Mississippi River in northern Minnesota

SOLWAY, Minn. -- Hundreds of protesters chanting “Stop Line 3!” and “Water is life!” gathered at the headwaters of the Mississippi River in northern Minnesota on Monday to resist a Canadian-based company's plan to replace an aging pipeline that carries crude oil from Alberta to Wisconsin. Environmental and tribal groups say Enbridge Energy's plan to rebuild Line 3, which would carry Canadian tar sands oil and regular crude, would worsen climate change and risk spills in sensitive areas where Native Americans harvest wild rice, hunt, fish, gather medicinal plants, and claim treaty rights. Protesters said the “Treaty People Gathering” was the largest show of resistance yet to the project. The Mississippi River is one of the water crossings for the pipeline. A group called Indigenous Environmental Network said on Twitter that protesters had blocked a pumping station. Opponents have said they will do whatever it takes to block completion of the project, including risk being arrested.