Line 3 Construction Complete in Canada, North Dakota and Wisconsin, Still Delayed in Minnesota

A recent report from the Associated Press shows the Line 3 oil pipeline replacement project is completed in Canada, North Dakota, and Wisconsin. Construction on the project has not even started in Minnesota due to politically-motivated delays to the project. In other words, this environmental improvement project is already done in areas where transparent energy policy still prevails.

The interesting takeaway here is how long Minnesota has delayed this project compared to how long it will actually take to replace the pipeline once construction begins. A report from MPR states the replacement project will take 6 to 9 months to complete. In contrast, Line 3 has been under environmental review since April of 2015.

In May of 2018, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) ruled that the environmental protections in place for the project were satisfactory and that the project should move forward. This decision was appealed by the Dayton administration in December of 2018, and Governor Walz has continued to delay the project with the incredibly flimsy rationale that we won’t need the oil in the future.

This means it has been 30 months since the project was originally greenlighted by the PUC and we still haven’t put a single shovel in the ground for this shovel-ready project. These unnecessary delays have undoubtedly added large expenses to the project because the longer a project drags on, the more expensive it becomes. To make matters worse, these politically-motivated delays will return no value to consumers, they will simply keep hardworking Minnesotans from having access to high-paying jobs.

Minnesotans should fear the growing hostility to our business climate at every level of government. Minneapolis and St. Paul are competing to see which of the two largest cities in the state can punish businesses the most, and Minnesota’s high taxes and politicized permitting process inspire no confidence that moving to Minnesota will provide for a safe area to operate and a fair shake from regulatory agencies.