Ilhan Omar and congressional allies urge Biden to stop work on nearly completed Minnesota oil pipeline

AP via Twincities ^ | 9/04/21 | Mohamed Ibrahim

[Libloather]

Minnesota U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar and her progressive congressional allies urged President Joe Biden on Friday to stop construction on Enbridge Energy’s Line 3 replacement, even as the project nears completion and the options to stop it dwindle.

Omar was joined by U.S. Reps. Rashida Tlaib, of Michigan, Cori Bush, of Missouri, and Ayanna Pressley, of Massachusetts, and Minnesota state Sen. Mary Kunesh, at a news conference in Minneapolis. The Democratic women called on Biden to revoke a federal water quality permit and stop the project, as the president did with the Keystone XL pipeline the day he took office.

Ahead of a planned weekend trip to northern Minnesota, where the pipeline is being upgraded, Omar and her allies echoed the arguments of Indigenous and environmental activists that the pipeline project would worsen climate change, violate Native American treaty rights, and risk spills in waters where Indigenous people hunt, fish and gather wild rice.

“We are here because the climate crisis is here,” Omar said. “The climate crisis is now. The climate crisis is happening and the last thing we need to do is allow the very criminals who created this crisis to build more fossil fuel infrastructure.”

The visit comes days after Omar sent a letter signed by nearly 50 state legislators and members of Congress to ask the Biden administration to meet with tribal leaders.

The heads of several Minnesota state agencies this week pushed back against several points in Omar’s letter, saying it exaggerated how much water Enbridge has pumped out of construction ditches amid the current drought and that the amount was actually well within approved limits. They also said claims in Omar’s letter that law enforcement used police dogs to intimidate protesters and fired “less-lethal” rubber bullets against demonstrators were false.

[minnesota_bound]

Background on the project. The pipeline routes away from indian reservations.
https://www.enbridge.com/projects-and-infrastructure/public-awareness/minnesota-projects/line-3-replacement-project

Project benefits:

Jobs: About 8,600 jobs (6,500 of them local) in Minnesota over a two-year period, including 4,200 union construction jobs, half of which are expected to be filled locally.

Economic activity: A $2 billion boost to the Minnesota economy during design and construction, with $1.5 billion of that in Enbridge spending alone.

Economic impact: About $334 million in payroll to workers (about 50% of that to local workers), and a $162-million construction-related gain for local economies, as a result of non-local workers in Minnesota, through purchase of local products/materials and use of local hotels, restaurants and services.

Long-term property taxes: Increase property tax revenue in each county crossed by the Project. Enbridge pays more than $30 million in Minnesota property taxes annually; this will increase incrementally by more than $35 million beginning the first full year of service.

Support for Minnesota refineries: The Line 3 Replacement Project will reduce apportionment, and continue reliable crude oil delivery; and provide energy savings on a per-barrel basis.