The Largest Inland Oil Spill in US History

On March 3, 1991, an oil pipeline near Grand Rapids burst, spilling 1.7 million gallons of crude oil into the Prairie River – that’s roughly 2.5 Olympic swimming pools worth of oil. It remains the largest inland oil spill in U.S. history.

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Producer: Julie CensulloEditorial support: Emily KrumbergerMixing & mastering: Chris Harwood

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Transcript

Welcome to MN90: Minnesota History in 90 Seconds.

[SFX: sounds of winds in the prairie]

Just after noon on March 3, 1991, a resident of Grand Rapids noticed the scent of oil in the air. This resident called the fire department [SFX: phone ringing], who immediately contacted Lakehead Pipeline Company. Lakehead operated an oil pipeline that past through Grand Rapids. Lakehead quickly confirmed that this pipeline - Line 3 - had ruptured. Crude oil was rapidly spilling into the Prairie River [SFX: sound of running oil]

The Prairie River is a tributary of the Mississippi, so authorities knew they needed to act fast to clean-up the oil before it spread further south. Luckily, the river was still frozen, and the cold temperature made the oil more viscous, which prevented it from spreading too fast.

In the end, 1.7 million gallons of petroleum leaked from Line 3. It remains largest inland oil spill in U.S. history. Lakehead’s parent company rebranded a few years later to Enbridge, Inc, and in 2021, Enbridge built a new line 3 pipeline through Northern Minnesota.

MN90 is produced by AMPERS, diverse radio for Minnesota's communities, made possible by funding from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Online at MN90.org.