St. Paul, Minn. (May 1, 2020) – Jobs for Minnesotans today released the following statement following the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) decision to re-issue the certificate of need and route permit for the Line 3 Replacement Project:
“Jobs for Minnesotans celebrates today’s decision by the MPUC to issue the certificate of need and route permit for the Line 3 Replacement Project based on an extensive scientific and factual record. As the most thoroughly reviewed in Minnesota’s history, this safety and maintenance project will provide a much needed private economic stimulus to greater Minnesota while also protecting the environment.
“As leaders in business, labor and communities, we appreciate that this decision brings us closer to putting thousands of skilled tradespeople to work here at home in Minnesota, creating more than $2 billion in economic impact in northeastern Minnesota communities and enhancing the safety of our environment for generations to come.”
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, Board Chair
nnorr@mnpower.com
218.590.6978
St. Paul, Minn. (April 21, 2020) – Jobs for Minnesotans today released the following statement addressing the decision by PolyMet to petition the Minnesota Supreme Court on the Minnesota Court of Appeals ruling last month that remanded the PolyMet NorthMet Project air permit back to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) for more information:
“Jobs for Minnesotans strongly supports the PolyMet petition and encourages the MPCA to also file a petition to the ruling. We believe the Minnesota Supreme Court should review last month’s ruling given its broad implications. We support PolyMet providing any information deemed necessary, but are increasingly concerned about the threat this ruling poses to Minnesota’s competitiveness, especially as we look toward economic recovery in the coming months and years.
“We are confident this project should move forward, upholding more than 15 years of thorough environmental review by state and federal agencies. The metals that will be safely and responsibly mined by PolyMet are critical not only to an expanding green economy, but also for important health care applications and to the infrastructure we have in place for reliable power and broadband communications networks that provide many Minnesotans with the capability to connect and work from home in today’s circumstances.
“We continue to look forward to the approximately 360 family-supporting jobs and estimated $515 million in annual economic benefits this project will bring to northeastern Minnesota communities, who need it now more than ever as they contend with the prospect of enormous losses related to the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. We encourage our allies in business, labor and communities who believe this project is right for Minnesota to stand strong.”
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, Board Chair
nnorr@mnpower.com
218.590.6978
St. Paul, Minn. (March 25, 2020) – Jobs for Minnesotans today released the following statement addressing the Minnesota Supreme Court’s decision to review January’s Minnesota Court of Appeals ruling on the dam safety permits and permit to mine for the PolyMet NorthMet Project:
“Jobs for Minnesotans is extremely pleased the Minnesota Supreme Court is reviewing the ruling on the PolyMet permits from earlier this year. The ruling – also petitioned by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources – has a negative impact on the state’s overall economy, not just on PolyMet. It creates regulatory uncertainty for multiple industries and municipalities as well as jeopardizes state agencies’ ability to perform their work.
“We are confident this project should move forward and the more than 15 years of thorough environmental review by state and federal agencies should be upheld. The metals that will be safely and responsibly mined by PolyMet are critical not only to an expanding green economy, but also to the infrastructure we have in place for reliable power and broadband communications networks that provide many Minnesotans with the capability to connect and work from home in today’s circumstances.
“Projects like PolyMet will help bring economic prosperity to a region that experiences severe economic disparities even in a strong economy. The project will provide approximately 360 family-supporting jobs to northeastern Minnesota communities and generate an estimated $515 million annually. It would help power growth of a more diverse regional and statewide economy as the first company to mine essential metals from the world-class Duluth Complex.”
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, Board Chair
nnorr@mnpower.com
218.590.6978
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.
St. Paul, Minn. (March 23, 2020) – Jobs for Minnesotans today released the following statement addressing the Court of Appeals decision remanding the air permit for the PolyMet NorthMet Project back to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) for more information:
“Today’s Court of Appeals ruling on PolyMet is unfortunate, given that PolyMet has done all the MPCA and other agencies have asked it to do – and more – through a tough regulatory review process. We’re increasingly concerned by court rulings that appear to effectively transfer regulatory authority to the judiciary from agencies long established under state statute and staffed with experienced experts in the scientific fields relevant to decisions, such as air permitting. We support PolyMet providing any information deemed necessary, but are concerned about the signal being sent to prospective investors in Minnesota as a result of such a prolonged regulatory and judicial process with no sense of predictable outcome, even when our state’s tough standards are met.
“We continue to look forward to the approximately 360 family-supporting jobs and estimated $515 million in annual revenue this project will bring to northeastern Minnesota communities, who need it now more than ever as they contend with the prospect of enormous losses related to the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. We encourage PolyMet to stand strong with our allies in business, labor and communities who believe this project is right for Minnesota.”
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, Board Chair
nnorr@mnpower.com
218.590.6978
Judge Backs Minnesota’s Twin Metals Mine in Lease Dispute
Minnesota Public Radio
Associated Press
A federal judge on Tuesday rejected a challenge by environmental groups against the proposed Twin Metals copper-nickel mine in northeastern Minnesota, saying the Interior Department had the authority to reverse itself and renew the project’s federal mineral rights leases.
The Obama administration tried to kill Twin Metals by rejecting the company’s application to renew its leases, citing the risk of acid mine drainage to the nearby Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. But the Trump administration gave the project a new lease on life when it reinstated those leases last year.
Read more: https://www.mprnews.org/story/2020/03/17/judge-backs-minnesotas-twin-metals-mine-in-lease-dispute
Duluth News Tribune
Vicki Hagberg
I believe in the ability of our state, federal, and tribal governments to evaluate industrial projects based on their merit and environmental protections and to hold them to those standards.
A lot has changed in the world of mining in the last 100, 50, and even 20 years, resulting in safer, more environmentally responsible operations. A moratorium on mining ignores both our country’s and the world’s need for precious minerals and the technological advances we are making every day to ensure safer mining operations.
Local View Column: PolyMet Ruling Sets Business-Unfriendly Precedent
Duluth News Tribune
Brian Hanson and Craig Olson
Businesses rely on predictability in the regulatory process to project and plan for investment. The trades depend on business expansion. Communities require a strong tax base and family-sustaining wages to fund schools and infrastructure. Without one element, the other falters. If we want to continue to produce a talented workforce and vibrant communities, Minnesota cannot afford to position itself at a further disadvantage with this added, unnecessary layer of process.
Like PolyMet, we are committed to staying the course. We must overcome this setback together. Our way of life and the livelihood of our region depend on it.
Jobs for Minnesotans Concurs with Concerns Outlined in the Petitions to the Minnesota Supreme Court to Review Minnesota Appeals Court Ruling on PolyMet Permits
St. Paul, Minn. (Feb. 12, 2020) – Leading DFL and Republican lawmakers appeared at a Jobs for Minnesotans media event yesterday at the State Capitol calling for fair and predictable state permitting processes for major development projects many see as jeopardized by a recent Minnesota Court of Appeals ruling.
The event was kicked off by founding members – President of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce Doug Loon and President of the Minnesota Building and Construction Trades Council Harry Melander. Also attending to express support were representatives of other industries and labor unions, including Agri-Growth, Association of General Contractors, the state chapter of the American Council of Engineering Companies, Iron Mining Association, MiningMinnesota, United Steelworkers District 11 and several building trades union leaders. The Iron Range legislative delegation was joined by other supportive state and federal elected officials and representatives.
The court last month remanded permits back to the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) that the agency had granted in 2018 to PolyMet Mining to build the state’s first copper-nickel mine near Hoyt Lakes. It ruled that disputed issues in the case should have been submitted to contested case hearings held by outside attorneys serving as administrative law judges, who then make recommendations back to the agency.
Critics of the decision, which PolyMet and the DNR are appealing to the state Supreme Court, say the ruling’s broader criteria for convening contested case hearings could add years of delay and costly uncertainty to permitting review processes for multiple industries and municipalities seeking major state permits. PolyMet’s permitting has already taken 15 years.
“You should never have 15 years of permitting. That’s way too long,” said State Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, R-Nisswa. “I say this is the beginning of thousands and thousands of jobs. PolyMet is the beginning of a new industry (copper mining) up there, plus all the jobs that come around it. … It’s time to get this work done.”
State House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler, DFL-Golden Valley, said “The integrity of the environmental permitting process is essential” to both strong environmental protection and robust job growth and that reviews of permitting decisions should be done by courts, not the Legislature. “If a project meets requirements, it should be allowed to move forward. And if not, it shouldn’t.”
In his remarks Melander warned of the impact uncertainty would cause for job creation at all levels of permitting, from local government to statewide projects. “If situations like this continue, people are going to look at Minnesota differently,” he said. “Every day thousands of Minnesotans go to work because of projects like PolyMet.”
”Simply put, our members want to understand the time and cost of compliance,” added Chamber President Loon. “This decision by the courts greatly diminishes the predictability and efficiency of the process.”
Another speaker at the event, Steve Giorgi, Executive Director of the Range Association of Municipalities and Schools, called on Gov. Tim Walz to express support for “the hard-working men and women of our state regulatory agencies.” He said the appeals court ruling undercut the longstanding regulatory discretion and authority of agencies like the DNR and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency in permitting, monitoring and regulating industry.
Jobs for Minnesotans completely concurs with the concerns outlined in the petitions. The recent Court of Appeals ruling on the PolyMet permits creates regulatory uncertainty for multiple industries and municipalities and jeopardizes the agency’s ability to perform its work. As demonstrated by the wide array of industries that stood in solidarity with Jobs for Minnesotans at yesterday’s media event, the Supreme Court should take up the PolyMet and DNR petitions given its broad implications and threat to Minnesota’s economic competitiveness.
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, Board Chair
nnorr@mnpower.com
218.590.6978
St. Paul, Minn. (Feb. 5, 2020) – Today, Jobs for Minnesotans board member Jason George, from International Union of Operating Engineers Local 49, testified in front of the U.S. House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources opposing the proposed H.R. 5598 legislation.
“This bill bans mining before there is even an opportunity to study an actual project proposal,” George testified. “We can’t let fear lead us to recklessly shut the door on opportunity without knowing the facts regarding specific projects.”
If enacted into law, this legislation would close access to one of the largest undeveloped copper, nickel, cobalt and platinum group metal deposits in the world without due process and with devastating effects on the economic and social well-being of northeastern Minnesota.
George also testified “I ask you to think about the people that actually live where these projects will be built. They want the opportunity to have state and federal agency experts review specific projects that are proposed and make their own decision as to whether they trust the project can be built safely.”
Jobs for Minnesotans also commends Representatives Stauber and Emmer for speaking against this bill today and fighting for due process under existing laws that have protected the environment in this region for decades.
Rather than advancing legislation that could have serious economic and security consequences, policymakers should have trust in and help facilitate the legal, well-established environmental review and permitting process for projects that will enable the United States to reduce its dependence on foreign sources of critical minerals.
Any proposed projects must of course meet stringent state and federal standards in order to move forward. Mining proponents should not be deprived of the opportunity to prove their ability to operate lawfully, safely and responsibly and follow the established, transparent, predictable and fair environmental review process long established under federal and state laws. Agencies long entrusted with orderly, science-based regulatory review under the law should not be supplanted by the forces of partisanship.
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, Board Chair
nnorr@mnpower.com
218.590.6978