ST. PAUL-Eight northern Minnesota Republican legislators who support the Sandpiper crude oil pipeline signed a letter to Gov. Mark Dayton asking for the public release of a state investigation into whether a Minnesota Pollution Control Agency employee "inappropriately and actively used his position" to obstruct the project.
The MPCA said the investigation revealed no cause to discipline the employee, Scott Lucas, but did not release the investigation's report.
Rep. Dale Lueck, R-Aitkin, Rep. Dan Fabian, R-Roseau, Rep. Deb Kiel, R-Crookston, Rep. Dave Hancock, R-Bemidji, Rep. Steve Green, R-Fosston, Rep. Mark Anderson, R- Lake Shore, Rep. Josh Heintzeman, R-Nisswa and Rep. Jeff Backer, R-Browns Valley all signed the letter.
"I remain deeply concerned over the unprecedented delay plaguing our permitting process for construction of crude oil pipelines in Minnesota," Lueck said in a press release. "We need to understand that delaying moving crude oil off our rail lines and into much safer modern new pipelines presents an unnecessary risk to public safety.
"The technology exists today to safely operate pipelines through what some refer to as 'ecologically sensitive' areas in here Minnesota," Lueck said. "However, we do not have the technology to recover lives lost due to preventable accidents that will surely result if our agencies continue to place manageable environmental concerns ahead of public safety."
