Winona LaDuke of environmentalist group Honor the Earth on Thursday said opponents of new crude oil pipelines by Enbridge Energy planned to call for a debate.
LaDuke talked about debating the merits of lines such as the Sandpiper line and Line 3 expansion during a speech hosted by the Brainerd Lakes Area State Unit of the League of Women Voters at the Brainerd Public Library.
"We are in the process ... we haven't sent them the letter yet ... but we're asking for a debate," LaDuke said. "I said, 'I'll debate you. Let me debate you, (Enbridge spokesperson) Lorraine Little, let me debate you, Enbridge.'"
The League of Women Voters should call for a debate, she said.
LaDuke also heavily criticised the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, saying the state regulatory agency "blew the tribal governments off" during the permitting process for Sandpiper. She noted the fallout from a recent court decision overturning a PUC permit for the project on the grounds there was no Environmental Impact Statement-a specific environmental study-conducted beforehand. Attorneys for both Enbridge Energy and the PUC last month asked the Minnesota Supreme Court to take up review of the Minnesota Court of Appeals' ruling.
ADVERTISEMENT
"The PUC knows what they did in this process was wrong," she said. "A very shoddy job."
Also last month, Enbridge Energy filed comments with the PUC in support of an EIS. An Enbridge release said the decision was "not one made lightly."
"The significant delays in the process have far-reaching impacts not just for Enbridge, but for the citizens of Minnesota," Enbridge said in the release. "Further delay means continued high volumes of rail traffic, and that 1,500 new construction jobs and $25 million in local tax benefits will not be realized in 2015, and possibly 2016. In order to solidify the regulatory process and create substantial safety and financial benefits for the state of Minnesota, Enbridge believes an EIS is the best option to ensure those benefits become reality."
The release also said that despite Enbridge's support of an EIS, they would continue their bid to see the Supreme Court review the matter anyway.
"We believe the level of environmental review previously implemented for Sandpiper is more than sufficient to support the (PUC's) grant of a certificate of need," it said.
When an audience member Thursday asked LaDuke what could be done, she told them they should lobby Gov. Mark Dayton to ensure a full EIS was conducted for Sandpiper. She said Dayton should order an EIS conducted by the federal government rather than a state-agency EIS because Sandpiper impacts American Indian tribes in the state.
"He could still be a big boy and call for an EIS," LaDuke said.
ZACH KAYSER may be reached at 218-855-5860 or Zach.Kayser@brainerddispatch.com . Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ZWKayser .
