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State Representative Matt Dean
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-3018
For more information contact: Austin Bleess 651-296-5529
NEWS RELEASE
DEAN CALLS ON ATTORNEY GENERAL TO HELP STILLWATER IN SIERRA CLUB LAWSUIT
St. Paul -- Stillwater lawmakers Rep. Matt Dean (R – Dellwood) and Sen. Ray Vandeveer (R – Forest Lake) requested that Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson help defend a lawsuit filed by the Sierra Club to prevent the replacement of the Stillwater Bridge.
The Lawsuit, filed against the Federal Transportation Administration is similar to a suit the Sierra Club filed in 1996 which delayed the new bridge.
“Since the Sierra Club filed the first lawsuit, the cost of the bridge has increased over $250,000,000 and the cost goes up a million dollars every month,” Dean said. “In those eleven years, $ 11 million has been spent to fix the historic lift bridge, and it has reached the end of its useful life. Recent fatalities on the bridge, together with a downgrading of the deficiency rating from 42% to 38%, have highlighted safety concerns.”
Dean sighted safety and economic damage to Minnesota as the primary concerns, however he pointed out those aren’t the only ones; noting that Stillwater residents have endured years of congestion, pollution and the economic vitality prevented by problems associated with the bridge.
“While lawyers on opposing sides keep themselves busy and grow old arguing this case, Stillwater continues to pay,” Dean said. The Attorney General’s Office represents the state in state and federal court, as well as in administrative adjudication and rulemaking hearings. Dean noted that the Attorney General has, as the attorney for the people of Minnesota, an “obligation” to protect the citizens from further economic harm and potential loss of life that this lawsuit has created.
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