Article from Duluth News Tribune
America needs more energy infrastructure to fully realize the benefits of our position as the world’s leading oil and natural gas producer, and Minnesota has a valuable opportunity to be a part of necessary infrastructure updates and can gain jobs and economic growth in the process.
This is in response to the May 4 “In Response” column in the News Tribune, headlined, “Oil pipelines put state waters at risk.”
During the course of a thorough, three-year approval process for the Sandpiper and Line 3 Replacement projects, Minnesotans have heard a lot of information about the projects’ benefits as well as the precautions and technology applied to ensure the pipelines are safe for the environment.
It’s important to keep in mind that U.S. pipelines have an impressive safety record beyond these individual projects. America’s more than 199,000 miles of liquid pipelines transported about 16.2 billion barrels of crude oil and petroleum products in 2014 at a safety rate of 99.999 percent, according to data collected by the Pipeline Safety Excellence initiative, which tracks safety performance and facilitates continuous industry-wide safety efforts.
Pipelines are among the safest, most efficient methods for transporting energy. After an exhaustive review process, it’s time for Minnesota to move forward.
Erin Roth
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