On Monday, the Minnesota Court of Appeals reaffirmed state regulators’ key approvals of Enbridge Energy’s Line 3 oil pipeline replacement project with a 2-1 ruling backing the Public Utilities Commission’s choice to grant Enbridge the certificate of need and route permit for the project.

Following the announcement, Majority Leader Paul Gazelka (R-East Gull Lake) released the following statement:

“I am glad to see that the Minnesota Court of Appeals rule in favor of the Public Utilities Commission decision and am hopeful that this ruling will end what has become a political circus.  Environmentalists and politicians on the left far too often forget that Line 3 is a replacement project meant to switch us from an aging 60 years old line running on reduced capacity to one that uses state-of-the-art materials and technology. If you want to talk about safety or preserving the environment, then getting this done is the best choice for our lakes, rivers, and all the communities across Northern Minnesota.

“I also want to take a moment to call on elected officials from both sides of the aisle to condemn the violent protesting we saw this past week. It is completely inexcusable for protestors to jeopardize the well-being of employees working on or at facilities across the state. Furthermore, the damage and destruction to property we witnessed jeopardizes the safety of protesters and puts our first responders and residents of the local community at risk. Moving forward, we must all demand a more peaceful process.”