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