Enbridge expected to begin work on the ND work stations of the Sandpiper Pipeline Project late fall 2015

The Sandpiper Project is an interstate crude oil pipeline that will bring growing supplies of North Dakota Bakken crude oil from the Enbridge Beaver Lodge Station south of Tioga, North Dakota to Clearbrook, Minnesota and then onto an existing Enbridge terminal in Superior, Wisconsin. From these terminals, the crude oil can be shipped through Enbridge pipelines and other third-party pipelines to U.S. and eastern Canadian refineries. More than 75 percent of the Sandpiper route follows pipelines and other infrastructure already in operation.

Enbridge has been working with regulatory and environmental agencies, county officials, communities, and landowners to develop the 616 mile Sandpiper route since April 2013. Once completed, the pipeline will have the capacity to move 225,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Bakken crude to Clearbrook, Minnesota and 375,000 bpd to Superior, Wisconsin.

Katie Haarsager, Enbridge ND Community Relations Advisor states, "Currently we are waiting on further permitting approvals in Minnesota and Wisconsin in order to start on any of the linear construction of the pipe. However in North Dakota we are approved and will be able to start some work on the stations at Stanley, Beaver Lodge, Berthold, and Lakota approximately later this fall. We are hoping to receive approvals by the end of the year to maintain an in-service date of 2017."

Enbridge lists the following FACTS about pipelines on their website:

There are more than 180,000 miles of liquid petroleum pipelines traversing the United States, connecting producing areas to refineries and chemical plants while delivering the products American consumers and businesses need.

The U.S. Department of Transportation credits pipelines as the safest most reliable and efficient manner of transporting crude oil and other liquid petroleum products.

Pipelines are one of the most heavily regulated industries in the U.S. and undergo rigorous and robust regulatory reviews from a variety of federal and state agencies

North Dakota Pipeline Company LLC is a joint venture between Enbridge Energy Partners, L.P. and Williston Basin Pipe Line LLC, an indirect subsidiary of Marathon Petroleum Corporation. North Dakota Pipeline Company LLC assets, formerly known as Enbridge Pipelines (North Dakota) LLC, are operated by Enbridge.