Enbridge Inc. received the final permit for its Line 3 pipeline replacement project from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency on Nov. 30, clearing the company to move forward on the final segment of construction.

The construction stormwater permit was the last for the $2.9 billion U.S. component of the project which will move up to 760,000 barrels a day (bbl/d) of crude from Alberta, Canada to Superior, Wis., via Minnesota and North Dakota. Construction is complete in Canada, North Dakota and Wisconsin.

Enbridge told the West Central Tribune newspaper that it expects construction to take about six to nine months.

The project has been delayed by a slew of lawsuits lodged by environmental groups as well as the White Earth Band of Ojibwe and the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians. Suits have contended that the risk of a spill is too high. The groups also said that the pipeline increases reliance on fossil fuels instead of renewable forms of energy.