State regulators today approved with conditions a “Certificate of Need” for Enbridge’s proposed “Line 3” pipeline upgrade through northern Minnesota but have not yet made a decision about a route. Winona LaDuke with Honor the Earth says opponents did not want to bring Standing Rock to Minnesota but, “State of Minnesota and Enbridge have their Standing Rock. It is here. It will look different. It will look different because there’s 300 miles of pipe that has not been built.” Republican State Representative Pat Garofalo from Farmington responds, “As long as leaders in both the conservative and progressive communities stand up and denounce this violence, then I think it’ll just be the behavior of one or two individuals.”
Backers say a new pipeline is necessary for safety reasons and will create more than four thousand construction jobs plus new tax revenue. Opponents warn the line will hurt the environment and could have disastrous oil spills.