Dear John,
The Bad River watershed and the Lake Superior shoreline are some of the most beautiful and ecologically important places on the planet. More importantly, it is the home of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. Their families and way of life are at risk from the pollution the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline will bring with it.
Take action now and tell the DNR to protect Lake Superior and the Bad River Watershed from Enbridge's pollution.
Enbridge Line 5 threatens our drinking water, pollutes our rivers and lakes, and increases the dangers of flooding. Line 5 will keep us invested in fossil fuels that contribute to climate change at a time when we are already seeing extreme weather events that a changing climate brings. And, extreme weather events due to climate change will only further exacerbate the impacts that threaten the structural integrity of the pipeline’s route.
It is worth asking why Wisconsin would double down on a fossil fuel that has an outsized contribution to climate change, the most important issue facing our planet. Pipelines, such as Line 5, carry some of the dirtiest fuels in the world. We should be working to immediately retire these outdated energy sources. The Enbridge pipeline should be shut down, not rebuilt, and rerouted.
Rather than submit a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that looks at the serious local and global risks a pipeline in the area will bring, TRC, the company contracted by the DNR to create the EIS, made numerous, significant errors including using outdated data, showing an incorrect route, and completely omitting sections on cumulative effects and water quality. TRC has significant ties to Enbridge.
It also failed to honor the 1842 U.S. treaty with Chippewa Tribes guaranteeing them the right to hunt, fish, and gather in ceded territory, through which the Line 5 expansion is routed. This right is nullified if a spill results in contamination of the resources there. The EIS did not realistically consider the consequences of a (very possible) spill into the Kakagon Sloughs (home of wild rice) and Lake Superior, and it lists only 3 out of 10 tribes granted these rights!
This EIS is an inadequate portrait of all the potential impacts of the Line 5 expansion. We are asking the DNR to protect Lake Superior and the Bad River Watershed by going back to the drawing board and starting this process over.
Please personalize your letter to DNR to tell your story and explain why protecting our waters from Line 5 and reducing climate change pollution matters to you.
