OREANDA-NEWS. Enbridge's 225,000 b/d Sandpiper crude pipeline project is facing an unexpected impediment along the Minnesota leg of its 600-mile path: wild rice.

Native American groups say that the proposed route of Sandpiper, which crosses grasslands in Minnesota on its way from North Dakota to Wisconsin, violates their treaty rights to fish, hunt and gather crops, in particular, wild rice.

The tribes, which include Ojibwe groups, also known as Chippewa, have harvested wild rice in the region since the mid-1700s, a staple crop of significant spiritual and cultural value. The Mille Lacs Band, an Ojibwe group, last week filed a motion to intervene with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) regarding the routing permit of the Sandpiper project. The group also filed a similar motion to have a say in the commission's certificate of need for the line.

The Mille Lacs Band said that the construction and operation of Sandpiper "has significant potential to harm" its wild rice resources by causing degradation of water quality and changes in hydrology. Sudden increases in the quantity and speed of water caused by drainage ditches, pumps and channelization can disrupt plant development, the group said.

In addition, the project would increase the risk and potential size of an oil spill which would be "catastrophic for wild rice resources" and could contaminate groundwater.

Enbridge's proposed $2.6bn Sandpiper project will connect the Bakken formation of western North Dakota to a hub at Superior, Wisconsin. Nearly half of the line, about 300 miles, would cross Minnesota, running from the North Dakota border to Clearbrook, Minnesota, and then to Superior, Wisconsin. From there, the crude can move to refineries in the US midcontinent, Gulf coast and eastern Canada. Sandpiper is a joint venture between Enbridge and US refiner Marathon Petroleum.

Another Enbridge project in the region, the Line 3 replacement, is a $7.5bn plan to replace the existing Line 3 crude pipeline from Hardisty, Alberta, to Superior, Wisconsin.

Enbridge said that its two projects mainly cross private land and that any impact to food gathering would be limited to the time when the pipelines are under construction.

Any hunting, fishing and gathering that were available on public lands prior to construction "would go back into effect as soon as construction and restoration are complete," an Enbridge spokeswoman said.

At least two tribal groups, the Mille Lacs Band and the White Earth Band, held their own hearings on Sandpiper, focused on the alleged threat to the environment and to the tribal way of life. The White Earth hearing included 35 witnesses, according to a transcript from the group.

The National Congress of American Indians in July adopted a resolution urging a thorough environmental review of the Sandpiper project "including respect of tribal resources." The resolution states that "Manoomin" or wild rice is a sacred food of "tremendous spiritual and cultural importance" and "a federally-protected tribal resource."

Enbridge has hired a tribal relations consultant for the project and said that it is always open to meet with stakeholders. The company recently held meetings at the White Earth and Mille Lacs reservations on the proposed Line 3 project which has also garnered tribal opposition.

"We look forward to continuing to engage with the tribes as well as all of the people who live, work and play in the areas where we operate," the Enbridge spokeswoman said.

The Sandpiper project was originally scheduled to be in service in early 2016, but has been delayed because of opposition. The pipeline faced another setback last week when the PUC voted to put on hold its approval of the certificate of need following a 14 September ruling by a Minnesota Court of Appeals which revoked the certificate. The three-judge appeals panel determined that the Minnesota Environmental Policy Act requires that a "major governmental action" such as granting of the certificate of need requires an environmental review.

Last year, the PUC took the unusual step of splitting the certificate of need for the pipeline and the routing processes, which are usually decided together. The PUC last week requested that all parties in the case provide comments by 30 October on how the commission should proceed.