Embedded Files
Enbridge’s Line 5 is currently running under the Straits of Mackinac, through the Bad River Native American reservation, which violates several treaties with the Bad River Ojibwe tribe. Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette and others have said the right-of-way through the Straits and Bad River reservation would not have been granted if requested today. Enbridge has proposed a reroute around the Bad River reservation. However, this reroute still crosses over 200 bodies of water that provide fresh water and fish to the Bad River tribe. After the reroute, Line 5 would be transporting Alberta tar sands oil which is thicker and more acidic than regular crude. Because the oil is more acidic, the pipeline would be more likely to corrode and burst, leaking a more dangerous form of oil into the Bad River reservation! 68 local governments throughout the state have signed resolutions to shut down Line 5. The 12 Federally Recognized Tribes in Michigan have also submitted resolutions calling for the shutdown of Line 5.
The Line 3 pipeline was built by Enbridge in the 1960s. In 2015, Enbridge requested to increase the capacity of its pipeline network by rerouting Line 3. The new, 340-mile pipeline section would pass through the watersheds and ancestral Anishinaabe tribal lands of Minnesota including the Leech Lake Indian Reservation, the Red Lake Indian Reservation, and the White Earth Indian Reservation. The route of the new pipeline would cross over 200 bodies of water and over 3,400 acres (14 km2) of treaty-protected lands.The pipeline violated several treaties with the Ojibwe people that established their right to hunt, fish, and gather along the proposed route. (Kevin Whelan) The project was granted a Minnesota Pollution Control Agency construction stormwater permit on November 30, 2020 and construction of the pipeline began immediately.
On the morning of June 7, 2021, protesters scaled metal fencing to enter an Enbridge pump station about 20 miles north of Park Rapids, Minnesota. In a non-violent direct action, hundreds of protesters dug trenches and set up blockades with trees and poles along the pump station's access road while about two dozen people chained themselves to the bulldozers and other heavy machinery at the site. (Wikimedia Foundation) Enbridge sent a letter to the Clearwater County Sheriff on June 12, 2021 saying that the people there were trespassing. Enbridge spokesperson Michael Barnes compared the blockade of the pump station to the January 6 insurrection in the U.S. Capitol.
Citing environmental risks and other factors, the Minnesota Department of Commerce concluded that the Line 3 expansion is not in Minnesota’s interest, and that the existing pipeline should cease operations.
Native Americans harvest 250,000 lbs. of fish from the Straits area annually. Line 5 crosses over 280 rivers and streams that flow into the Great Lakes. These are waters that supply drinking water to over 40 million people. “The Great Lakes are the lifeblood of Tribal Nations across Ontario, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, who depend on its connected tributaries, coastal waters, groundwater aquifers, and fish and plant populations to sustain their supply of drinking water, food, and ancient medicines.” (Bala Sivaraman) Enbridge drafted a relocation plan that situated the pipeline around the Reservation but still within the surrounding Bad River watershed. The surface water is connected with the groundwater along the pipeline’s relocation, so construction or any leak will quickly contaminate tribal drinking water. The Tribe’s Reservation is located downstream, so discharges from construction, changes to water quality, or a spill anywhere upstream will make its way through the watershed and empty into the Reservation!
“This steady flow of oil spills puts Minnesota’s water, ecosystems, treaty rights, and communities at risk.” (Greenpeace)
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse