Local 49 Business Manager Jason George released the following statement in response to the Enbridge Line 3 Replacement Project receiving state agency permits.
Today, science, reason and logic won. The DNR and PCA have issued permits that the Line 3 replacement project needed to move forward. There is a little more work to do with the Army Corp, and the PUC has to formally issue their permit to construct, but today’s issuance of state agency permits is a significant milestone.
Governor Walz has consistently said he will follow the science and the process, and if they showed that this project should proceed he would accept those results and we would build it. I thank him for living up to those words today. The agencies have done their work, the record is very clear, and the process is now over and it is time to build.
There will be a very small number of groups that decry this decision. Their objections are political. The evidence and facts do not support their claims. It is a major victory for reason and common sense that agencies followed the science, not the politics on these permits. It is very encouraging for the future.
Our members are trained, they are ready, and they look forward to delivering this critical project for the state and the region.
