Greenlight Line 3 bill (HF3759), An Update:
Greenlight Line 3 bill (HF3759) updateHouse vote on Monday May 14th. Tell your Reps to vote NO on this anti-environment bill!
“Greenlight Line 3” bill (HF3759), to bypass the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) review process and allow immediate construction of Line 3 Oil Pipeline, will be debated and voted on this Monday, May 14th in Mn House.
Some reasons why this bill is a bad idea:
1. The Minnesota PUC has undertaken a deliberative review to assess the need for a new pipeline, referred to as Line 3, intended to carry dangerous and dirty Canadian tar-sands oil through Northern Minnesota’s water-rich lands. As a part of this review thousands of citizens and experts testified as to whether Line 3 should be approved, and if so, along what route. A decision by the PUC is expected in June.
2. A Minnesota Administrative Law Judge has said there is no need for the new pipeline that Enbridge proposed on its preferred route. Notably, in her decision she held as fact that the incremental life-cycle GHG emissions for Line 3 will be 193 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions that total $287 billion in social costs.
3. Minnesota’s use of oil is down considerably and the dire need to transition to a clean energy cannot be credibly disputed. We continue to risk our lives and environment by depending on Big Oil.
HF 3759 halts the PUC proceedings entirely and grants approval for immediate construction of Enbridge’s proposed Line 3 pipeline along Enbridge’s proposed route.
The PUC’s deliberative review must be allowed to continue. Critical decisions like these should be made by regulators based on the best evidence from the citizens of Minnesota and the best science from experts. Allowing a foreign oil company to exercise eminent domain powers for its profit with no regulatory oversight is not good for Minnesota. The potential damage to climate, our waters and lands by allowing Enbridge to construct the pipeline wherever it wants and when is immense and irreparable.
Call your Mn House Representatives and tell them to vote no on this bill. Call Governor Dayton and urge him to veto HF3759 if it passes and lands on his desk.
For more details to help you formulate your message:
· The bill (House and Senate version) – authors, text, etc.
· Good news piece from last year – arguments still apply
· More recent news piece
Follow MN350 and Honor the Earth on social media for real time updates.