MN Legislative Auditor Finds PUC Mishandled Line 3 Public Hearing Process

St. Paul, MN -- An audit of the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission’s public participation process, released today by the Office of the Legislative Auditor, found that the PUC mishandled public hearings on Enbridge’s controversial Line 3 tar sands pipeline. 

The hearings on Line 3 were held in rooms much too small to accommodate the number of Minnesotans interested in attending and weighing in on the projects, and pipeline opponents were frequently barred from entering or removed from the room over alleged rule violations. The audit of the PUC’s process was conducted in response to numerous complaints from Minnesotans who were mistreated at the hearings or were unable to participate. The resulting report confirms that PUC staff “were not adequately prepared to administer some Line 3 meetings” and that they “did not use consistent practices when interacting with the public during its Line 3 meetings.”  

The PUC approved permits for Line 3 in May, based on a flawed environmental impact statement that downplays the risk the pipeline poses to Minnesota’s waterways. 

In response, Sierra Club North Star Chapter Director Margaret Levin released the following statement: 

“A bad process leads to bad outcomes. It has long been clear that the PUC’s approval of Line 3 was based on faulty scientific analysis, and today’s report confirms that it was based on a faulty public process as well. This is just further evidence that this pipeline never should have been approved, and it is critical that Governor Walz do everything in his power to stop it once and for all.”