Alberta Clipper Pipeline Project EIS

Location: North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin

Summary: Cardno ENTRIX prepared a third-party EIS for the Alberta Clipper Pipeline Project under the direction of DOS. Enbridge Energy and its affiliates (collectively Enbridge) proposed to construct and operate a crude oil pipeline from Hardisty, Alberta, Canada, to Superior, Wisconsin. The 36-inch diameter Alberta Clipper Pipeline would carry up to 450,000 bpd of crude oil from the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin in Canada for delivery to refineries in the U.S. In the U.S., the Alberta Clipper Pipeline would extend 331 miles from the U.S.- Canadian border near Neche, North Dakota across northern Minnesota to an exiting Enbridge terminal in Superior, Wisconsin.

Because the Alberta Clipper Project would require a crossing of the U.S.-Canadian border, a Presidential Permit is required from the DOS for the project to proceed. As a result, the project is subject to NEPA, which requires public disclosure of potential environmental impact, and identification of potential mitigation measures and consideration of alternatives to avoid or minimize potential significant impacts. In addition to the international border, the proposed project route crosses a Reservation and a National Forest. Cardno ENTRIX supported DOS for both the NEPA review; the final EIS was issued in June 2009. Cardno ENTRIX continues to assist in the government-to-government consultation with a variety of Tribes under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.