In accordance with the COVID-19 guidance developed by the Minnesota Department of Health, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has made the safe decision to cancel all in-person, public events for Enbridge’s proposed Line 3 replacement project to support the health of our communities.

This includes the open houses and public forums in Bemidji (March 17), Grand Rapids (March 18) and Mahnomen (April 1). In lieu of public hearings, Jobs for Minnesotans urges you to submit your comments in writing to the MPCA online prior to the April 10, 2020 deadline. You can do so by clicking here.

The MPCA has also announced plans for three 90-minute telephone town hall meetings. The public can call into the telephone town hall to share a two-minute comment to be included in the official public record and listen to other comments. The telephone town hall meetings are scheduled on the following dates and times:

• Thursday, April 2, 2020 from 2 – 3:30 p.m.
• Tuesday, April 7 from 6:30 – 8 p.m.
• Thursday, April 9 from 10 – 11:30 a.m.

As you craft your comments, please consider including these messages asking the MPCA to promptly process and approve the permits and authorizations needed for the Line 3 Replacement Project to move forward:

• The replacement of Line 3 is needed in order to meet the state’s energy needs and after 5 years of permitting and regulatory review has become the most thoroughly studied pipeline project in Minnesota history.
• Replacing an aging pipeline with new, modern construction, is the safest and best option for protecting the environment and communities. 
• As the most thoroughly studied pipeline project in Minnesota history, we believe the environmental, water and wetland studies that have occurred over the last several years related to the project have been thorough and complete.
• Enbridge is complying with federal and state wetland laws and protections, and the route was specifically and carefully selected to mitigate the impact to water bodies and wetlands.
• The Route Permit was approved, confirmed and issued by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission after a rigorous Environmental Impact Statement and public input process spanning more than five years.
• Enbridge will continue to be good environmental stewards from the construction of the project across the state of Minnesota to maintenance and monitoring of the pipeline once it’s operational.
• This project is a critical $2.6 billion dollar investment in Minnesota’s energy infrastructure and will provide quality jobs to thousands of Minnesota workers during the course of the Project, including 8,600 family-sustaining construction jobs.