Jonathon Berman, jonathon.berman@sierraclub.org
St. Paul, MN -- Today, the Minnesota Department of Commerce filed an appeal challenging the Public Utilities Commission’s (PUC) June approval of the permits for Enbridge’s Line 3 tar sands pipeline.
Prior to the PUC’s decision, the Department of Commerce submitted expert analysis and determined that the new Line 3 is not needed and that the proposed project’s “serious environmental and socioeconomic risks and effects outweigh limited benefits.” The PUC ignored this recommendation, as well as recommendations from other state agencies urging them to reject the pipeline.
Earlier this week, groups including the Honor the Earth, the Red Lake and White Earth Bands, Sierra Club, Friends of the Headwaters, and the Youth Climate Intervenors also filed their own appeals.
“We’re glad to see the Department of Commerce challenge the PUC’s rogue approval of this dirty tar sands pipeline,” said Margaret Levin, State Director for the Sierra Club North Star Chapter. “Line 3 would threaten our clean water, communities, and climate, all for the sake of more tar sands oil our state does not need.”
“Honor the Earth thanks the Department of Commerce for standing their ground and standing in the way of this disastrous project,” said Winona LaDuke, executive director of Honor the Earth. “Enbridge has consistently bullied the agencies and people of Minnesota and we are happy to see the DOC stand up for the people of Minnesota, and the world.”
“The position of the Department of Commerce is correct that the applicant did not comply with regulations regarding demonstrating the need for the project. In taking the action that they have, the PUC is disregarding their own regulations. It is heartening to final see a State Agency stand up to both the PUC and the applicant. More heartening, the Department of Commerce is standing with the loyal opposition and standing for our clean water, our indigenous brothers and sisters, and against climate change which affects us all,” said James Reents of Northern Water Alliance of Minnesota.
"This shows that the Department of Commerce continues to take its job as the public interest advocate seriously," said Andy Pearson, Midwest Tar Sands Coordinator with MN350. "The facts in the record don't leave much room for debate: Line 3 would have costs to Minnesotans that far exceed the benefits, and the economic case just isn't there. You can't just white out $287 billion in climate costs like the PUC did and expect nobody to call you on it. The DOC has done the responsible thing to challenge this illegal decision."
“As young people, we’re too used to seeing our government side with the fossil fuel industry. We’re grateful to see our state’s Department of Commerce stepping up, doing the right thing, and continuing to stand with our generation,” said Brent Murcia, one of the Youth Climate Intervenors. “And we’re excited to take the PUC to court together.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.