More on the MinnCan pipeline

It's been a long week at work, I have not had a lot of time to post or respond to what's going on lately...but nothing like going back to another good ole MinnCan / Koch Industries pipeline story.

The SC Times has a story today about an appeal to the Minnesota Court of Appeals regarding the pipeline being forced down their throats in Greater Minnesota.

Some seem to think that 165 landowners should simply roll over because nearly a thousand did. If you have checked out previous posts here about the pipeline, you will read about extremely coercive tactics used by Koch Industries / MinnCan pipeline folks.

MPIRG attorney John Carney said the landowners' due-process rights were violated because:

» Many landowners never received notification of the pipeline, while others received notice too late to have any meaningful participation in the process.

» The PUC didn't follow a Minnesota Supreme Court decision requiring that new utilities follow existing routes when possible.

» The PUC didn't properly evaluate whether a new crude oil pipeline is needed in Minnesota. Other alternatives weren't considered or were rejected without proper analysis, the landowners contend.

» The environmental review wasn't adequate for a project of such magnitude and impact.

Regardless, nearly 6 months later, the pipeline cutting through the heart of Greater Minnesota still remains an incredibly important issue, especially for our farmers.

We'll continue to follow the story!