ST. PAUL – Rep. Steve Green, R-Fosston, was among 76 legislators from the Minnesota House and Senate who on Friday sent a bipartisan letter to Gov. Tim Walz, urging him to support the Line 3 replacement pipeline project, and to drop state-backed legal challenges to the unanimous decision by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission to grant the certificate of need for the project.
“Due process has taken place on the Line 3 replacement project and it’s time for the state to step aside and allow work to begin just as the Public Utilities Commission unanimously authorized,” Green said. “I’ll give Gov. Walz some leeway in that it might have been an awkward situation for him to walk into, with actions the Dayton administration took hanging over the start of his tenure. That said, the court’s recent ruling now takes away the heavy lifting for Walz because he doesn’t have to lift a finger to put an end to the legal stunts. All he has to do is step aside and let the work begin on this important project. Anything less is unacceptable.”
Earlier this week, the Minnesota Court of Appeals dismissed appeals from various environmental groups and the Minnesota Department of Commerce. As a result, the Walz administration must decide whether to re-file a petition for reconsideration, the first step toward any potential appeal. That decision must be made by Tuesday.
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