Unbalanced regulation leaves northern Minnesota behind

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In his State of the Union address to Congress earlier this month, President Joe Biden noted that 12 million American jobs had been created since he took office, including 800,000 new jobs in the manufacturing sector.

"We're building back pride," the president said.

But not in northern Minnesota, where none of these new manufacturing jobs were created.

The latest blow to investment in our part of the state came two days after the president's address, when Huber Engineered Woods announced it had decided not to build a state-of-the-art mill just outside of Grand Rapids after all, citing project delays. Huber will build its $440 million facility elsewhere ("Iron Range mill a no-go after court setback," Feb. 10).

The loss of Huber is another in a long line of manufacturing projects either delayed or canceled in northern Minnesota in recent years, mostly over environmental concerns. To be sure, there are legitimate questions to be asked about how these projects would affect our communities. But when each and every one of them ends up significantly delayed or scuttled, something is wrong with our process.

This is not a new issue. Repeatedly over the years, it's been pointed out that the permitting process needs to be improved. As noted in a 2006 report from a governor-appointed task force on the competitiveness of Minnesota's forest products industry, "the permitting and environmental review processes applied in different jurisdictions around the world are fundamentally similar, but the regulatory frameworks that these permitting and environmental review processes are based on can vary substantially."

Seventeen years later, that's what we're still seeing here in Minnesota.

Environmental protection should not be reduced. But the process of environmental review and permitting should be predictable and timely. We need a process that allows industry to grow, in a world where competition for growth is increasing every day.

Instead, a company seeking to manufacture housing materials from a renewable, sustainable resource can't build on a site that's currently home to a coal-fired power plant — due to environmental concerns.

We in northern Minnesota greatly value our clean water and our beautiful forests. Our woods and water are why we live here, so we can take advantage of recreational opportunities such as hiking, camping, hunting, fishing, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, bird-watching, berry-picking and so much more. But we also need well-paying jobs that grow our communities, that keep our kids from moving away because they can't find work close to home.

President Biden said as much in the State of the Union. He referenced the construction of a $20 billion semiconductor plant just outside Columbus, Ohio, as an example of how manufacturing jobs are making a comeback. According to news reports, the site raised concerns about wetlands, similar to the Huber site. But in Ohio, state regulators also considered the economic benefits and issued the necessary permit, finding a balance between investing in rural communities and preserving the environment.

In Minnesota, we haven't been able to find that balance, at least not in northern Minnesota. It would be interesting to know the impact on wetlands from development in the Twin Cities metro area each year, compared to the Huber site. Projects up north are met with stiff opposition from those who don't want to see established environmental processes through. That's among the many reasons Huber's decision to build elsewhere is a tough pill to swallow.

Our communities need investment. We need jobs. We need the shot in the arm a project like Huber would provide. Sometimes it seems as if the only development we can get completed around here is a new fast-food restaurant.

Biden told Congress it's important to invest in places and people that have been forgotten: "You wonder whether the path even exists anymore for your children to get ahead without having to move away. I get that. That's why we're building an economy where no one is left behind. Jobs are coming back. Pride is coming back, because of choices we made in the last several years."

Maybe that's the case elsewhere. But not here. What we're doing isn't working. Northern Minnesota is being left behind.

Ray Higgins is executive vice president of the Minnesota Timber Producers Association.