physics

Sandpiper pipeline

Sandpiper pipeline is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Sandpiper pipeline rather than just read about it. In short: The Sandpiper pipeline was a proposed 616-mile-long (991 km) underground oil pipeline project in the United States. It would have carried light crude oil from the Bakken oil fields in Northwest North Dakota, through Minnesota, to Superior, Wisconsin.

Key takeaways

Sandpiper pipeline belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Sandpiper pipeline to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Sandpiper pipeline from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Sandpiper pipeline was a proposed 616-mile-long (991 km) underground oil pipeline project in the United States. It would have carried light crude oil from the Bakken oil fields in Northwest North Dakota, through Minnesota, to Superior, Wisconsin. Enbridge Energy Partners, and Williston Basin Pipe Line LLC, an indirect subsidiary of Marathon Petroleum Corporation had planned the project since 2013. In 2015 Enbridge estimated that the pipeline would cost about US$2.6 billion. In 2016, Enbridge announced the cancellation of the pipeline, the withdrawal of their state application, and their request to end an environmental impact statement and regulatory proceedings.

History The Sandpiper pipeline project was made public by the media in 2013, and informational hearings for landowners took place in three North Dakota towns in March 2014. The North Dakota Public Service Commission approved the pipeline in June 2014. The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission unanimously approved the Sandpiper pipeline, but its decision was overturned in September 2015. In September 2016, Enbridge Energy Partners announced that due to "extensive and unprecedented [regulatory] delays [which] have plagued the Sandpiper pipeline," they were withdrawing their state application and asking for an end to regulatory proceedings, including work on an environmental-impact statement. An Enbridge spokesperson said that the pipeline may be reconsidered once the oil market rebounds but it was then "outside the company’s current five-year planning horizon".

Purpose In 2015, Enbridge stated that "The Sandpiper Pipeline serves the oil conducting needs of North Dakota residents, which constitutes a public benefit". Per Enbridge, the Sandpiper pipeline would have represented a "public use" as a "statutorily defined public utility". According to Enbridge, its route was chosen with the "greatest public benefit and the least private injury" and that "as long as the public benefit can be demonstrated, it is immaterial that private interests are also served." Per Enbridge, the pipeline was necessary "to meet demand for Bakken oil". The corporation projects economic benefits of $69 million in property tax revenue for the 3 states, and 3000 construction jobs for workers in Minnesota and North Dakota.

Description The pipeline would have entered Minnesota just south of Grand Forks, North Dakota, east to Clearbrook Enbridge's terminal and then south toward Park Rapids along an existing crude oil corridor. Afterwards, the pipeline would have run along a transmission line corridor to Superior, Wisconsin. The route of the pipeline would have travelled through 28 rivers, including the Mississippi River, and lakes and wetlands that couldn't be reached by nearby roads when a spill occurs.

North Dakota portion Informational hearings for landowners took place in three North Dakota towns during March 2014. The North Dakota Public Service Commission approved the pipeline on 25 June 2014. Enbridge sued a Grand Forks couple in 2014 after they refused to give the Canadian corporation an easement and right-of-way on their property. The couple quoted NDPL's abuse of eminent domain, continued reliance on fossil fuels, their effect on the environment, and the possibility for spills as arguments. In August 2015 the couple agreed to an easement and forfeited compensation, in order to file an appeal to the North Dakota Supreme Court.

Minnesota portion In November 2013, Enbridge applied at the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC). The MPUC unanimously approved the project, allowing an environmental review to be conducted at a later date. In September 2015, the Minnesota Court of Appeals overruled the PUC decision as a violation of state law. In a November 2014 Star Tribune commentary a Polk County commissioner, a Clearwater County commissioner and a Red Lake County commissioner opined, that the Sandpiper pipeline was the "best choice for the state...better than trucks or rail and also offer[ing] economic benefits." In February 2015, the White Earth Indian Reservation, represented by Winona LaDuke stated that the pipeline would cross a portion of its land, which Enbridge disputes. La Duke has been against the pipeline because it would violate Indian sovereignty and for environmental reasons. The President of North America's Building Trades Unions came out in a December 2015 commentary criticizing the Minnesota Court of Appeals decision, accused the court was "robbing hard-working Minnesotans of jobs" which would provide workers with a path to middle class.

See also List of oil pipelines in North America List of oil refineries List of oil spills

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Sandpiper pipeline

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Sandpiper pipeline claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Sandpiper pipeline before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Sandpiper pipeline ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Sandpiper pipeline

In research: Sandpiper pipeline appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Sandpiper pipeline in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Sandpiper pipeline is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Cancelled energy infrastructure, Crude oil pipelines in the United States, Enbridge pipelines, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Sandpiper pipeline outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Sandpiper pipeline in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Sandpiper pipeline means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Sandpiper pipeline out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Sandpiper pipeline in simple terms?

Why does Sandpiper pipeline matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Sandpiper pipeline?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Sandpiper pipeline.