The Line 3 Public Safety Escrow Account has paid out more than $7 million dollars to country sheriffs, fire departments, and the Department of Natural Resources, as of Feb. 12. Enbridge funded the escrow account to reimburse public law enforcement for Line 3- related expenses they incurred.
The PUC turned down very few requests, according information obtained from the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) through a state data practices request. Law enforcement agencies got paid for pretty much everything they asked for, including payments for routine patrols of Line 3 work sites.
The PUC denied at least $106,000 in reimbursement requests. (Lack of details in the PUC response made it difficult to identify all rejected charges.)
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