 Tonight we bring you the second part of a two-part series examining the economic benefits of the proposed Line 3 pipeline. As many communities survive from tourists and seasonal residents in summer months, those economies greatly diminish during the winter. The potential of jobs and additional people spending in the area has led to support from many communities. Reporter Mel Meyer talked to some of the proponents of the pipeline and Mel joins us live in the studio with the second part of this report. Mel? Thank you, Dennis. Not all of the people I talked to who supported the pipeline would live in a town directly on the proposed route. However, they would live close enough to it and have such a small economy that their area would be impacted tremendously. Unfortunately, about three years ago we lost our grocery stores, so that left us with one less business. Loris Krogstead worked for Enbridge for 30 years working up to operations at the Clearbrook Terminal. Now the mayor of Ganvik a few miles away, he says any additional jobs near the area could revitalize a few town businesses. We relied a lot on outside dollars coming into Ganvik because we are such a small community and it means a lot to the businesses and stuff that do we still exist here that they could have that income. He says Enbridge has given a lot to a small farming community. They provide us with our fire department with emergency equipment. They provided our city with mowing equipment and stuff to help us maintain the beautification of the community cash grants that we receive from time to time. Enbridge frequently does this for communities near pipelines. At an individual level, the company says it has voluntarily acquired or bought about 95 percent of private lands on the preferred route. Which you know I think is a strong indication of the fact that you know the people that would have the pipeline on their property have been for the most part very supportive of our project. Other cities have profited from the corporation's presence such as Bemidji where the current line three runs through. Lori Parris says other projects such as Alberta Clipper help Bemidji through the recession. It was a huge boon to our local economy when nationally everything was in the toilet. As businesses closed permanently and for the season, Parris says she worries about the delays in the permitting process. And in the meantime we're missing out on some great economic impact in our community. In the small township of Longlost Lake, David Johnson says a county could use the tax revenue for his area of mostly retirees. While the pipeline would not run near his property, it would go through Clearwater County. So it's not going to affect us directly, but it is going to affect us indirectly in that the county will have more funds in their coffers. He says he further supports the project as there are different safety guards to pipelines that couldn't be controlled with trucks or trains to transport the oil. Things can happen to pipelines too. But we have to be willing to accept a certain amount of risk. For Johnson, this project is not just about the local aspects but national energy independence. He says the major question is, should we be using this natural resource? And my answer to that is an unequivocal yes. An Enbridge representative says that 1,500 construction jobs will be needed for the project. However, the number of permanent jobs that would be created was not readily available. All right. Thank you very much, Mel, for that live report tonight. Over 1,500 comments were submitted to the Public Utilities Commission about the environmental and economic impacts. The report will also take into account statements expressed during 12 public meetings. A draft of the environmental impact statement is set for April of 2017 and is expected to be finished in July. Now you can watch the first part of this two-part series on our website at lptv.org backslash news.