St. Paul, Minn. (Oct. 10, 2018) – Jobs for Minnesotans today released the following statement in reaction to the dismissed charges yesterday against four out-of-state trespassers who admitted to tampering with an active pipeline:
“Jobs for Minnesotans is disappointed by the court’s decision yesterday. These defendants put themselves and the local community in extreme danger by (admittedly) trespassing and tampering with an active oil pipeline. Acts like this of any kind should be forcefully condemned and should not be the dangerous precedent that was set. We as an organization are committed to working with our allies to address current laws relating to trespass or tampering with critical infrastructure to ensure the continued safety of our communities.
We encourage citizens with concerns about infrastructure projects to pursue the many non-criminal avenues, such as the Legislature, the courts or lawful protest. Amateurs, who have no experience or training, taking unlawful action like trespassing and tampering with active infrastructures should be extremely unacceptable in the eyes of all citizens.
Minnesotans believe in the established processes, which are robust and thorough, to assess and ensure the environmental impact and safety of infrastructure projects, including pipelines, before construction and during the lifespan of its operation. We must expect anyone from outside our state to follow the law when they choose to visit and hold the courts accountable to reinforce those laws.”
About Jobs for Minnesotans
Jobs for Minnesotans, a coalition representing business, labor and communities, supports statewide opportunities for prosperity and middle-class jobs from sustainable natural resource development in Minnesota. The organization is committed to the principle that our state can preserve both job opportunities and the environment for future generations. Jobs for Minnesotans was co-founded in 2012 by the Minnesota Building and Construction Trades Council representing 55,000 workers and the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce representing 2,300 companies and 500,000 employees. For more information, visit jobsforminnesotans.org, follow @JobsforMN on Twitter and find the coalition on Facebook.com/Jobs4MN.
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Media Contact: Nancy Norr, Chair
nnorr@mnpower.com
Cell: 218.590.6978