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ST. PAUL -- Last week, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission approved a permit that would reopen a petroleum pipeline near the Pipestone National Monument.
The 4-1 vote to approve the permit was the latest action in an attempt by Magellan Pipeline Co. to re-route the pipeline.
At a livestreamed meeting Thursday, tribal members voiced objections to the pipeline. The Pipestone National Monument and pipestone quarries in the area are culturally important to tribal nations.
In 2023, Magellan applied to re-route part of a pipeline that runs from Sioux Falls to Marshall. In 2022, the Department of the Interior had declined to renew a right-of-way permit for part of the original pipeline, which ran through the Pipestone National Monument.
The PUC initially approved a permit for a pipeline re-route. However, in early 2025, the commission reversed its decision, and called for Magellan to engage with tribal nations and complete “cultural, archaeological, and historical resources inventories” for two proposed pipeline routes. In its 2025 announcement, the PUC said its decision included coordination with 15 tribal nations and entities with ties to the pipestone quarries.
The pipeline route approved Thursday runs about 13 miles northwest of the monument, instead of passing through it.
At Thursday's meeting, several representatives of Minnesota tribes said Magellan's cultural survey did not meet standards set by the PUC, and that Magellan didn't coordinate with them enough. The speakers included Upper Sioux Tribal Historic Preservation Officer Samantha Odegard.
The only vote against the pipeline permit was made by PUC member Audrey Partridge. Partridge said she thought the proposed routes were too close to the monument, but also noted that the PUC didn't have a "no-build" option.
"Our authority is limited to what is provided to us by statute. We have to select a route. We don't have a no-build option," Partridge said.
"The fact that this went through the monument to begin with is a travesty, and we are doing our best to, I think, try to mitigate that harm and move this line," Partridge said.