Minnesota PCA Refuses to Give Public Adequate Time to Weigh in on Line 3 Permit

St. Paul, MN -- Today, in response to calls from local advocates to extend the public comment period on a key water crossing permit for Enbridge’s proposed Line 3 tar sands pipeline, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency announced an extension of just one week.

Scheduled public hearings on the project were canceled last week due to the COVID-19 public health crisis, and environmental and Indigenous rights groups urged MPCA to delay a decision on the permit until a time when public hearings could safely be rescheduled. 

“An extra seven days amid an ongoing public health crisis is completely insufficient to ensure Minnesotans’ voices are heard on this critical issue,” said Margaret Levin, director of the Sierra Club North Star Chapter. “Minnesotans deserve real opportunities to air concerns about the threat Line 3 poses to our clean water and communities, not a rushed process that shuts the public out.” 

“The tar sands oil industry is crashing, and Enbridge has a potential plan to send 4,300 workers into northern Minnesota to build Line 3 on the heels of the COVID-19 crisis,” said Honor the Earth Executive Director Winona LaDuke. “There is a definite need to extend the public comment period on PCA permits much longer than just a week; it's the right thing to do. Minnesota doesn’t need to be liable for a stranded asset. We’re under enough duress. Unfortunately, this is an inadequate decision.” 

“We’re encouraged that PCA recognizes the need to change this process and is working to think creatively about soliciting public comments on this massive tar sands oil project in our state. But in these tumultuous times, we’re not convinced that the average resident will have the time and background to review and comment on this important project within the next couple weeks,” said Steve Morse, Executive Director of Minnesota Environmental Partnership. “We ask our state agency to work with the federal EPA to delay further consideration of this project at least until the crisis restrictions on the lives of everyday Minnesotans are lifted.”

“In a state of peacetime emergency, Minnesotans deserve better than a one-week extension and no commitment to reschedule in-person public hearings,” said Andy Pearson, Midwest Tar Sands Coordinator with MN350. “Our priority during the COVID-19 pandemic should be everybody’s safety, not the wishes of a Canadian oil corporation to build through northern Minnesota communities. The MPCA has better options here to capture the full breadth of information that is vital to making the right decision. While this extension is better than nothing, it is too little and too late to meet the bar of true public engagement on this critical permit.”