Eight days after Nebraska regulators greenlighted the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) cautioned regulators in his neighboring state against giving swift approval to another proposed oil pipeline.

In a Tuesday letter shared with HuffPost, the progressive congressman urged the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MNPUC) to consider climate change, downstream pollution and Native Americans fierce opposition before voting on the final certificates needed to begin construction of Enbridge Energys Line 3 pipeline. The state regulators are scheduled to hold a Dec. 7 hearing on the projects potential environmental impact. A final vote is slated for April.

Enbridges $2 billion pipeline would carry 760,000 barrels of tar sands oil some 1,031 miles from Alberta, Canada, to refineries in Minnesota every day. That amount of crude is equivalent to the annual carbon emissions of about 16 to 18 million cars on the road, Ellison noted.

Many of my constituents noted that the Line 3 replacement pipeline would be transporting tar sands crude, which is among the dirtiest fossil fuels, Ellison wrote. When reviewing this project, the MNPUC should ensure that the pipeline would not further exacerbate the warming of our planet or undermine Minnesotas ability to achieve statutory greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.