Sandpiper Pipeline - Kiel, Fabian: Burdensome regulations doomed pipeline
Originally published by Times Report
Good-paying jobs are lost as a result, they say
Last week, it was announced that Enbridge Inc. has purchased a minority stake in the Bakken Pipeline, which will run from North Dakota to the Gulf Coast.
Minnesota State Representatives Deb Kiel (R-Crookston) and Dan Fabian (R-Roseau) said they believe this move essentially ends Enbridge’s pursuit of the Sandpiper Pipeline, a project that, the legislators say, has faced burdensome state government regulations and long delays. This will cost Greater Minnesota jobs and economic investment, Kiel and Fabian said.
“I am disappointed that regulatory hold-ups and decision making in St. Paul have driven jobs, investment and business out of northwest Minnesota,” Kiel said. “Talking with folks across the district about the Sandpiper Pipeline, it was clear that this project was a positive investment in our local economy. Now, however, North Dakota and other neighboring states will see the investments that should have been in Minnesota.”
“From day one, the Sandpiper Pipeline has been burdened with regulatory delays and barriers from the governor and his state agencies. Those onerous roadblocks have cost our community a $2 billion project and thousands of great jobs in northwest Minnesota,” Fabian added. “Our neighboring states are able to move this regulatory process along efficiently while protecting their environmental interests, and it is extremely frustrating that Minnesota refuses to do the same.”