St. Paul, MN -- Today, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) announced that they will not reschedule a public hearing on the proposed Line 3 tar sands pipeline in St. Cloud. The hearing was scheduled to be held on October 26th but was canceled due to logistical concerns from the city.
In response, the Sierra Club and MN350 submitted letters to the PUC urging them to reschedule the hearing to ensure that all Minnesotans had an opportunity to weigh in on this project.
“It is very disappointing that the PUC is disregarding the importance of this opportunity for the public to weigh in on a project that would threaten Minnesota’s land, water, and communities,” said Margaret Levin, State Director for the Sierra Club North Star Chapter. “Every interested Minnesotan deserves to have their voice heard in this process and it is the duty of state agencies to ensure that they have that opportunity. For our members and supporters who had planned to attend this hearing and had hoped to see it rescheduled, this decision sends a troubling message about the value of public input in this process.”
"Fear of strong opinions beat out public process today," said Andy Pearson, Midwest Tar Sands Coordinator with MN350. "Many Minnesotans have passionate views on the Line 3 pipeline, which threatens our climate, water, and communities. The PUC should have made a point to hear those views in St. Cloud instead of shutting them out."
“Young people from across the state deserve to be able to speak to the judge and ask questions of Enbridge on the record like we are able to do,” said Akilah Sanders-Reed, Youth Climate Intervenor. “It’s disappointing to see our peers voices silenced.”
"The Anishinaabeg people have been fighting the Enbridge Corporate expansion through our territories for several years. In the early days of the Sandpiper pipeline permitting process, we attended meetings and hearings all over the state on topics that affect our lands but were not held in our lands. During the Line 3 process, the state has held more meetings and hearings in our land. However, canceling the St. Cloud hearing without rescheduling greatly impacts our peoples' and many Minnesotans ability to have their voice heard on a highly contentious issue,” said Tara Houska, National Campaigns Director with Honor the Earth.
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.