Banner Photo Credit: Arnold Dogelis

The following is a new release from Honor the Earth:

12 of 17 MEMBERS OF THE MINNESOTA POLLUTION CONTROL AGENCY’S ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ADVISORY GROUP RESIGN IN PROTEST OVER PCA’S APPROVAL OF LINE 3 PERMITS LAST WEEK, CALLING IT A “WAR ON BLACK AND BROWN PEOPLE” – AND A STAB AT SHORT-TERM JOBS

Former advisory members point to Michigan Governor’s recent move to shut down Line 5 over safety, climate 

Callaway, Minn., -- November 17, 2020 – With Covid-19 cases spiking in small rural Native and non-Native communities where healthcare resources are already strained*, and the additional real threats to Native communities and increases in greenhouse gasses associated with Line 3 in northern Minnesota, 12 of the 17  members of the Environmental Justice Advisory Group (ELAG) of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) have resigned over the agency’s permit approvals for the line last week.

The 12  members – including many Native leaders – sent a strongly worded letter to MPCA Commissioner Laura Bishop (see below). They criticized the agency’s failure to do its job of protecting Minnesota’s natural resources and its people while pointing out that the economic gain from short-term jobs is not viable. The advisory group also pointed to recent actions by Michigan Governor Whitmer to shut down Line 5, noting the parallel safety and climate concerns over Line 3 at a time when the tar sand oil industry is failing and climate change threats remain imminent.

The EJAG wrote:

In light of your recent decision to approve the Line 3 401 water crossings permit, several members of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s (MPCA) Environmental Justice Advisory Group (EJAG) are submitting our collective and public resignation. After much discussion, we cannot continue to legitimize and provide cover for the MPCA’s war on Black and Brown people. 

The Line 3 pipeline will cross over 200 bodies of water, inevitably poisoning rivers, wetlands, and wild rice beds. It will emit as many greenhouse gases as running 50 new coal plants 24 hours a day. If we were to get every other sector in our state to carbon neutral, we wouldn’t be able to offset the added emissions this pipeline will bring. This pipeline threatens further spread of COVID-19 when we are experiencing peak cases and hospitalizations in our state.