St. Paul, Minn. (June 14, 2018) – Jobs for Minnesotans today released the following statement in response to news about the June 28, 2018, closing date for the administrative land exchange for the PolyMet NorthMet Project:
“Today’s news that the administrative land exchange for PolyMet will be complete later this month is a positive step toward bringing hundreds of jobs to northeastern Minnesotans from the NorthMet project. We’re pleased to learn there is now a definitive timeline for this long-awaited land exchange to be finalized.
“The land exchange will not greenlight the PolyMet mining project, but rather will ratify what the Forest Service already determined during its exhaustive environmental review and public input process – that the land exchange is in the public’s best interest.”
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
Ely Echo
Dean DeBeltz
Building on our commitment to sharing information about the Twin Metals Project with the public as details become more certain, we recently released new project information. As a part of this effort, I had the opportunity to meet with a number of people in our community who are interested and engaged in the future of our project. The conversations were productive and were based on maintaining open lines of communication to provide accurate information about our project as it becomes available. In the spirit of these meetings, I wanted to take the opportunity to provide some facts about our project.
[…]
At the end of the day, we’re not trying to look for shortcuts. We’re going through the process as is outlined by state and federal law.
Our company and employees are tremendously honored and thankful to call this area home.
Read More: https://www.elyecho.com/articles/2018/06/10/there-are-no-shortcuts-opening-mine
Twin Metals Provides New Mine Information
Mesabi Daily News
Jerry Burnes
Twin Metals Minnesota unveiled new information Thursday on its anticipated underground copper-nickel project nearly Ely, including locations of the mine’s concentrator, tailings storage facility and new office.
Estimates provided by Twin Metals project the mine will create 650 direct jobs, 1,300 spin-off jobs in the region and 4 million construction hours, with a total of $40 billion in mineral value, at a total investment of $1.2 billion.
The Ripon Advance
Staff
U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN) is helping steer a Congressional Western Caucus initiative regarding American mineral mining that is championed by Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Rep. Emmer and other members of the caucus seek a comprehensive review by the Trump administration of all mineral withdrawals executed under the previous administration and for action to be taken “to scrap any mineral withdrawals determined to be without merit and whose purpose served to block responsible development,” according to a May 2 letter sent to U.S. President Donald Trump, U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, and Vicki Christiansen, interim chief of the U.S. Forest Service.
Read More: https://riponadvance.com/featured/emmer-leads-gop-effort-end-obama-era-mineral-withdrawals/
St. Paul, Minn. (May 9, 2018) – Jobs for Minnesotans issued the following statement about today’s deadline for filing formal responses to the April 23, 2018, Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) report on the Line 3 Replacement Project.
“We fully recognize that an important part of the regulatory process is to review the Administrative Law Judge’s recommendation and bring to light issues we find with it. We’re pleased that our member organizations are engaged in this process and continue to share their support for the certificate of need and preferred route.
“The preferred route strikes the right balance for Minnesota. Unfortunately, the ALJ’s recommendation for in-trench replacement along the current route ignores the testimony of many Minnesota voices, including evidence about worker safety and environmental protection. Heavy equipment activity on the existing Line 3 right of way introduces construction risks that would not exist on Enbridge’s preferred route, a route that offers greater protection to workers and communities.
“The ALJ’s recommendation would also require shutting down Line 3 for 16 months while it’s replaced. Shutting down this pipeline for that length of time would cause unnecessary harm to Minnesota’s economy with rising gas prices and lost jobs.
“Ultimately, the judge’s recommendation ignores the overwhelming evidence for the preferred route for the project and delays living wage jobs in Northern Minnesota. We urge the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission to make a common sense decision to approve the certificate of need and route permit for the preferred route, based on the strong evidence supplied during the regulatory process.”
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
218.590.6978