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John,
The “Line 5” Pipeline, located under the Straits of Mackinac between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, currently transports 545,000 barrels of oil per day from Canada, through Wisconsin and into Michigan. It’s a disaster for the global climate, the local environment, and the Indigenous cultures of Michigan’s 12 Tribal Nations, and it’s opposed by Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
A federal judge recently ruled that the pipeline trespasses illegally on the Bad River Band’s reservation, in violation of treaty rights. In addition, the five tribes of the Chippewa Ottawa Resource Authority claim the pipeline is in violation of the 1836 Treaty guaranteeing them fishing rights in the Strait of Mackinac. As the pipeline endangers the fish, the tribes’ primary cultural and economic activity is likewise threatened.
Canadian pipeline company Enbridge is trying to get around the courts by rerouting the pipeline, so they can keep the profits flowing. But Enbridge has a prior history of burst pipelines. In 2010, part of the Line 6B pipeline dumped more than 840,000 gallons of oil into a tributary of the Kalamazoo River in one of the worst inland oil disasters in U.S. history.
The Army Corps is relying on a flawed environmental assessment that doesn’t even consider shutting down Line 5 as a reasonable alternative. Now the comment period on the Wisconsin reroute has been extended until August 4th, and we need you to take action!
Send your official comments to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to demand they stop the Line 5 pipeline now. We will send a copy to President Biden too.
In addition to oil spills, the increase in oil production made possible by the pipeline will worsen the climate crisis. The Stockholm Environment Institute estimates the pipeline causes the release of 27 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into the air every year.
Whitney Gravelle, President of the Bay Mills Indian Community, said the continuing operation of the pipeline despite multiple Treaty violations represents
“another notch in a long history of ignoring the rights of tribal nations. We must act now to protect the peoples of the Great Lakes from an oil spill, to lead our communities out of the fossil fuel era, and to preserve the shared lands and waters in Michigan for all of us.”
We can still stop the rerouting of this illegal pipeline. Send your Official Comment to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers today: to demand respect for Treaty rights and denial of the rerouting of the Line 5 pipeline now.
Thank you for protecting the global climate, the natural environment, and the Treaty rights of Indigenous tribes.
- Amanda
Amanda Ford, Director
Democracy for America
Advocacy Fund
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