St. Paul, Minn. (April 23, 2018) – Jobs for Minnesotans today supports the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) recommendation to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission to approve the certificate of need for the Line 3 Replacement Project. At the same time, Jobs for Minnesotans disagrees with the ALJ’s condition applied to this recommendation to replace Line 3 in the same trench and instead strongly believes the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission should approve the certificate of need and route permit on Enbridge’s preferred route.

“We’re pleased that the Administrative Law Judge recommendation acknowledges the need for replacing aging infrastructure in our state,” said Harry Melander, president of the Minnesota Building and Construction Trades Council, a co-founding organization of Jobs for Minnesotans. “This recommendation is a step in the right direction toward putting our homegrown talent to work with quality jobs that support their families and create opportunities for the next generation. We do disagree, however, with the ALJ’s decision to recommend the pipeline be replaced along its existing route – this is not in the best interest of Minnesotans.”

The Line 3 Replacement Project will create 6,500 Minnesota jobs and represents a staggering total economic impact in the state of more than $2 billion and annual property tax revenue of $19.5 million each year according to a University of Minnesota Duluth study.

“Safe energy transportation projects like this one are essential to ensuring Minnesota’s economy remains competitive with the rest of the world,” said Doug Loon, president of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, a co-founding organization of Jobs for Minnesotans. “We’re thankful to the thousands of Minnesotans who took the time to provide input in shaping this project, and we look forward to a positive decision on the certificate of need and preferred route from the Public Utilities Commission as quickly as possible.”

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, Jobs for Minnesotans Board Chair
nnorr@mnpower.com
Cell: 218.590.6978