Congressman's view: Roadblocks to energy innovation hinder state’s future

In September, Enbridge decided to withdraw its Minnesota application to construct the Sandpiper pipeline. Unfortunately, this action is a tremendous blow to Minnesota’s economy and those in desperate need of a job.
Undeterred by the needless political squabble that took down Keystone XL, regulators continue to stifle energy investment in our state with excessive and burdensome delays. In fact, Enbridge Energy Partners’ president said, “Extensive and unprecedented (regulatory) delays have plagued the Sandpiper pipeline.”Like you, I want clean water and clean air and to ensure that we leave this planet better than we found it. But, if we’re not careful, Minnesota will be only pristine prairie and forests, devoid of any means to provide for our families or improve our way of life.The $2.6 billion Sandpiper project would have brought in $900 million in direct spending and 1,500 jobs for northern Minnesota. The company held dozens of public meetings, worked tirelessly to secure the support of communities and the unions that would have provided the core workforce, negotiated with private landowners, and even sponsored community-development projects across Duluth. If the benefits Sandpiper would have brought to our state wasn’t proof enough of its worthiness, consider this: This project would have brought in an additional $25 million in property taxes to government.Instead, it was mired in regulatory processes for more than three years, and a final resolution of the project would not have been completed until 2019.Trade has been blamed for several economic woes, from cheap steel dumping to sending jobs abroad. The demise of Sandpiper is just the latest casualty in radical efforts that have deprived our state and nation of projects that can bring good-paying jobs and economic activity to places that desperately need it. Sandpiper would have directly invested in environmental and resource protection.Blocking this pipeline, just like blocking the Keystone XL pipeline, will do nothing to curb the demand for oil; instead, it will guarantee our energy is shipped in dramatically more dangerous ways or from more unstable places. Transporting energy through pipelines rather than our already congested roads or railways has been a safe and stable component of Minnesota infrastructure for 65 years. Outside of Sandpiper, Enbridge already provides Minnesota with 800 jobs and routes resources to more than 80 percent of Minnesota’s refineries. Company safety and pipeline integrity management is actually a job creator, and some $4 billion goes toward Minnesotans and employees to monitor these projects, making sure they are executed as planned and function without error.Despite these recent frustrations, Minnesota is in the midst of an energy renaissance. New technologies have unlocked both old and new ways to harness our resources, allowing us to create economic prosperity by revealing new ways to preserve and sustain our habitat.Minnesota can be the north star for an all-of-the-above energy strategy. We have the resources, workforce and technologies to make us a world leader in energy production, transportation and employment. What we need is more leadership and less roadblocks. U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Otsego, represents Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District. He wrote this for the News Tribune.In September, Enbridge decided to withdraw its Minnesota application to construct the Sandpiper pipeline. Unfortunately, this action is a tremendous blow to Minnesota’s economy and those in desperate need of a job.
Undeterred by the needless political squabble that took down Keystone XL, regulators continue to stifle energy investment in our state with excessive and burdensome delays. In fact, Enbridge Energy Partners’ president said, “Extensive and unprecedented (regulatory) delays have plagued the Sandpiper pipeline.”Like you, I want clean water and clean air and to ensure that we leave this planet better than we found it. But, if we’re not careful, Minnesota will be only pristine prairie and forests, devoid of any means to provide for our families or improve our way of life.The $2.6 billion Sandpiper project would have brought in $900 million in direct spending and 1,500 jobs for northern Minnesota. The company held dozens of public meetings, worked tirelessly to secure the support of communities and the unions that would have provided the core workforce, negotiated with private landowners, and even sponsored community-development projects across Duluth. If the benefits Sandpiper would have brought to our state wasn’t proof enough of its worthiness, consider this: This project would have brought in an additional $25 million in property taxes to government.Instead, it was mired in regulatory processes for more than three years, and a final resolution of the project would not have been completed until 2019.Trade has been blamed for several economic woes, from cheap steel dumping to sending jobs abroad. The demise of Sandpiper is just the latest casualty in radical efforts that have deprived our state and nation of projects that can bring good-paying jobs and economic activity to places that desperately need it. Sandpiper would have directly invested in environmental and resource protection.Blocking this pipeline, just like blocking the Keystone XL pipeline, will do nothing to curb the demand for oil; instead, it will guarantee our energy is shipped in dramatically more dangerous ways or from more unstable places. Transporting energy through pipelines rather than our already congested roads or railways has been a safe and stable component of Minnesota infrastructure for 65 years. Outside of Sandpiper, Enbridge already provides Minnesota with 800 jobs and routes resources to more than 80 percent of Minnesota’s refineries. Company safety and pipeline integrity management is actually a job creator, and some $4 billion goes toward Minnesotans and employees to monitor these projects, making sure they are executed as planned and function without error.Despite these recent frustrations, Minnesota is in the midst of an energy renaissance. New technologies have unlocked both old and new ways to harness our resources, allowing us to create economic prosperity by revealing new ways to preserve and sustain our habitat.Minnesota can be the north star for an all-of-the-above energy strategy. We have the resources, workforce and technologies to make us a world leader in energy production, transportation and employment. What we need is more leadership and less roadblocks.U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Otsego, represents Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District. He wrote this for the News Tribune.