HOUSTON, Aug. 7 (UPI) -- Pipeline company Enbridge announced it received approval from U.S. regulators to restart the oil pipeline that ruptured last month in Wisconsin.
Enbridge spokeswoman Lorraine Little said in a statement a return-to-service plan was approved by the Pipeline Hazardous Materials Safety Administration and Line 14 should be in service soon.
"The safety of people who live and work along our pipelines as well as the protection of the environment are our top priority," she said. "We will continue to work closely with PHMSA to ensure that the pipeline is safely restarted."
Enbridge, which has headquarters in Houston, last week confirmed it received a corrective action order from the PHMSA in response to the July 27 incident in Wisconsin.
The PHMSA order prohibited the resumption of operations until Enbridge submitted a restart plan for the 467-mile segment in Wisconsin. Enbridge said "it is not unusual" to get such an order from the PHMSA.
Line 14 has a capacity of 317,600 barrels of oil per day. Installed in 1998, it's part of the Lakehead oil pipeline system carrying so-called tar sands oil from Canada. About 1,200 barrels of oil was released from the pipeline but Enbridge said it was largely contained.
