In the energy and environmental news, and of concern to Minnesota residents are the impacts of energy development from the fracking process for securing oil and gas and the mining of sand for use in this process. What many citizens don’t know is that oil pipelines already cross northern Minnesota, and producers are currently requesting increased pressure limits to push more oil through them. Minnesota’s own tar sands pipeline has been online since October 2010, with volume increases in the works larger than the Keystone XL proposed capacity.
Enbridge, the largest Canadian oil transport corporation, has a 285-mile tar sands pipeline across northern Minnesota crossing the Mississippi headwaters, also crossing water flowing north to Hudson Bay and east out the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Seaway. Enbridge requested an increase of 27 percent to 570,000 barrels per day in a pipeline operating since 2010. The majority of this oil is for export.
Local Pagan environmental activist Susu Jeffrey has published this article detailing the ongoing health and leakage concerns regarding these pipelines that cross our state and Native American lands. Working with the Friends of Coldwater Spring in Minneapolis they have established a petition to urge President Obama to reject the capacity increase with copies sent to state and local officials.
Susu, an advocate for our preserving our states water as our most precious resource says,”What happens to the water happens to the people.”
