Justice Department Opposes Lawsuit to Overturn Enbridge Line 3 Pipeline Approval

Pipeline foes have been told by the U.S. Department of Justice that expert authorities — not protesters and politicians– still have the deciding say on projects, including a conduit to transport oil from Canada into the Lower 48.

The message emerged in a recent Justice Department filing that opposes a native tribal lawsuit to overturn federal approval of the $2.6 billion Minnesota leg in the Enbridge Line 3 oil pipe replacement project.

The 1946 U.S. Administrative Procedure Act sets strict limits on interference with regulatory agencies, according to the filing with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in the case of Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians et. al. vs. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The legal review standard “is narrow and highly deferential, an...