BusinessNorth
Staff
The Enbridge Line 3 replacement project will create approximately 8,600 jobs and will represent an investment of more than $2 billion in the 15-county study area of Minnesota according to a new economic impact study.
Duluth News Tribune
Nancy Norr and Craig Olson
Natural resources allow us to transport our goods from point A to point B, fuel our cars, keep our homes warm, and cook the food that keeps our families happy and healthy. Those natural resources include the materials that fabricate steel pipe and the petroleum that flows through it. In Minnesota, we rely on liquid oil pipelines to move energy safely to where it’s needed and used to do all of the above.
For decades, pipelines quietly have crossed a variety of environments, moving energy to where it’s needed and used. More than 2.5 million miles of gas and petroleum pipelines crisscross the United States, safely crossing thousands of bodies of water to deliver the energy we rely on to fuel our daily lives.
Grand Rapids Herald Review
Jay Manders
Enbridge plans to spend $2.6 billion to replace Line 3 with state-of-the-art pipeline technology that will dramatically improve the safety of the line. And we’ve spent over tens of thousands of hours to select the most suitable route. That kind of scrutiny pays off. Ray Woulo, principal hydrologist for Barr Engineering, has noted that less than two percent of the lakes along the proposed pipeline route would be susceptible to effects from the project. That’s the result of careful planning.
Grand Rapids, Minnesota (June 6, 2017) – Jobs for Minnesotans today called on representatives from business, labor and the community to voice support for Enbridge’s Line 3 Replacement Project in advance of a Minnesota Department of Commerce public meeting on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Project.
“The DEIS for Enbridge’s Line 3 Replacement Project is thorough and complete,” said Nancy Norr, Jobs for Minnesotans board chair and Minnesota Power director of regional development. “We’re here today to voice our resounding support for this Project and let the Minnesota Department of Commerce know that our members support the approval of the Certificate of Need and preferred route applications for the Project.”
The Line 3 Replacement Project has the potential to create 4,200 job opportunities, with approximately half of those local to Minnesota, according to a recent University of Minnesota Duluth study.
“Pipelines and the energy transportation industry in northern Minnesota have a long history of moving energy resources in a responsible and safe manner while also positively enhancing the region’s economy and job market,” said Brian Hanson, Jobs for Minnesotans board member and APEX president and CEO. “There’s no greater act toward preserving the environment than the $7.5 billion in private investment Enbridge has committed to replacing the existing Line 3 using modern materials, designs and construction techniques. Pipelines are the safest and most efficient way to move the energy we all rely upon.”
Norr and Hanson were joined in Grand Rapids by other representatives from business, labor and the community who echoed their support for moving forward expeditiously to permit the Line 3 Replacement Project. Speakers included:
- Ben DeNucci, Mayor of Nashwauk and Range Association of Municipalities and Schools (RAMS) Board Member
- Derek Pederson, Laborers Local #1091
- Paul Hawkinson, General Manager of Hawkinson Construction
An image of speakers at the press conference is available for download here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/l8hnhxyueh4vo4z/J4MN%20Grand%20Rapids%20Press%20Conference_6.6.17.jpg?dl=0 (From left to right: Nancy Norr, Derek Pederson, Paul Hawkinson, Brian Hanson and Ben DeNucci)
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: Meagan Pick
JobsforMinnesotans@gmail.com
Cell: 913.491.6754
Grand Rapids Herald Review
Brian Hanson and Dan Olson
Petroleum products play an important role in our day-to-day lives. They fuel our cars and boats, heat our homes and help create thousands of everyday items like clothes and cell phones. These energy products are required to be transported in a safe and timely way to meet our demands. Here in Minnesota, we rely on crude oil pipelines to do just that. Our pipeline systems, especially in northern Minnesota, have provided reliable and secure transportation of petroleum energy supplies for decades.
Pipelines and the energy transportation industry in northern Minnesota have a long prosperous history of moving energy resources in a responsible and safe manner while also positively enhancing the region’s economy and job market. Now, the responsibility is being handed to us as a community to support this industry that is such an integral part of our region.