A compelling new documentary was released today that scrutinizes the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline beneath the Straits of Mackinac. It is a must-
watch for anyone concerned about keeping oil out of the Great Lakes.
Motherboard correspondent Spencer Chumbley went to Michigan to investigate the two degrading oil pipelines, and the research is alarming. If just one of the pipelines ruptured, it would result in a spill of 1.5 million gallons of oil. University of Michigan research scientist Dave Schwab says, “I can’t imagine another place in the Great Lakes where it’d be more devastating to have an oil spill.”
At more than 64 years old, this pipeline is way past its expiration date.
You can DO SOMETHING NOW to prevent an oil spill
If this is your first time hearing about the problem, find out more about this threat and what you can do today to prevent a disastrous oil spill in the Great Lakes.
Since this documentary was released, the state has taken no real action to protect the Great Lakes. Oil & Water Don’t Mix has released a practical plan with steps the state could take to shut down this pipeline. Take Action Now to force the State of Michigan act on our call to decommission Line 5.
Click this Like button to like our Facebook page for the very latest updates on the efforts to #ShutDownLine5.
Every day, nearly 23 million gallons of oil flow through two aging pipelines in the heart of the Great Lakes known as Line 5. Not only does Line 5 put the Great Lakes at enormous risk from an oil spill, the oil carried by this pipeline once refined and burned creates a huge carbon spill into the atmosphere.
Enbridge, a Canadian-based oil transport giant that owns and operates Line 5, is now attempting to replace the pipeline with an oil tunnel that would carry millions of gallons of climate-harming fossil fuels everyday through our state for up to 99 more years.
There is no doubt that extending the life of this pipeline would exacerbate climate change and the impacts we are already experiencing in Michigan. The Michigan Climate Action Network is working hard to shut down the Enbridge Line 5 oil pipeline and stop the proposed oil tunnel.
Stopping the Tunnel
To build a tunnel, first Enbridge needs approval from the US Army Corps of Engineers and Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC). MiCAN has teamed up with attorneys at the Environmental Law & Policy Center to intervene in this case and make sure the impacts this new oil infrastructure would have on the climate are considered.
In April, we won an important victory when the MPSC ruled to include climate change in Enbridge’s Line 5 permit hearing. This was a HUGE win, and the first time a state agency is including climate in a review under the Michigan Environmental Protection Act, and the Commissioners overturned the ruling of the Administrative Law Judge to exclude evidence of climate change. This came after our attorneys argued our case to the Commissioners this spring, and we also submitted as public comment a letter signed by 120 businesses and over 2000 people urging the MPSC to include climate change evidence in their review of the proposed Line 5 tunnel.
In June, the Acting Army assistant secretary announced their decision to require the US Army Corp to conduct a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on Enbridge’s proposed tunnel around Line 5. This is a step that could slow down Enbridge’s plans and should result in significant new information about the dangerous climate effects of this proposed project. We fully expect that climate will be included in this EIS, based on executive action by President Biden and statements by the Secretary of Defense, and should result in significant new information about the climate effects of this dangerous and unnecessary tunnel project.
In September, four expert witnesses weighed in with the Michigan Public Service Commission and presented their evidence about whether Enbridge should be allowed to build an oil tunnel beneath the Great Lakes. They used climate data to study the project’s environmental impact, a first under the Michigan Environmental Protection Act. Their findings were clear and undeniable: allowing this oil tunnel to be built will exacerbate the climate crisis, result in an estimated 27 million metric tons of CO2 emitted every year, and will cost tens, if not hundreds of billions of dollars in net climate impacts as a result of the added emissions.
Shutting Down Line 5
Michigan can be the first state to shut down an oil pipeline.
While pipelines are federally regulated, Line 5 is unique because it crosses the Great Lakes bottomlands, so Enbridge holds an easement from the State of Michigan for the use of the Great Lakes public trust resource. Enbridge has violated this easement multiple times and Michigan’s Governor, Attorney General, and legislature have a legal pathway to shut down Line 5.
In November 2020, Gov. Whitmer ordered the shut down of Line 5 by May 2021, but Enbridge continues to illegally operate this pipeline and is fighting to block her action.
Our federal leaders need to hear from us. Click here to use your voice.
Get more involved with the campaign to Shut Down the flow of oil in Line 5 with our partners at the Oil & Water Don’t Mix Campaign.
The Problem with Enbridge Line 5 pipelines through the Great Lakes (oilandwaterdontmix.org)
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Enbridge Line 5 is back up and running after protests broke into a valve site.
Detroit Will Breathe and Stop Line 3 are the named groups either behind or supporting the protest, broadcasting their message through Facebook live and accompanied by protestors with signs.
Original report: Enbridge temporarily stops Michigan pipeline due to protests
One masked protesters armed with bolt cutters and a plumbers wrench crawled under the fence in Vassar, and then cut a safety device and started cranking a valve to shut down the oil’s flow. It took more than 40 minutes of winding.
The group said they called 911 and Enbridge before going in. The company said it shut down the pipeline itself as a precaution. Enbridge also released a statement, blasting what it calls criminal behavior:
“The groups involved in Tuesday’s incident claim to be protecting the environment, but they do the opposite and put the safety of people at risk — including themselves, first responders and neighboring communities and landowners. “We take this very seriously and will support the prosecution of all those involved.” ~Enbridge
“Maybe it wasn’t their goal to put people in danger but they literally put a whole community with a pressurized pipeline in danger of losing their lives, their livelihood and everything that they own,” said state Rep. Phil Green (R-Huron County), who lives a short distance from the pipeline.
Canada cites US treaty in Line 5 pipeline dispute with Michigan
Canada invoked a treaty with the United States and asked a judge Monday to suspend litigation over Michigan’s effort to shut down a Great Lakes oil pipeline.
Canadian Foreign Minister Marc Garneau made clear that his government is backing Enbridge, the Calgary-based company that operates Line 5.
Canada said it requested negotiations with the U.S. about the pipeline. It cited a provision in a 1977 treaty that says no public authority in either country can take steps to interfere with the flow of hydrocarbons. Click here to read more.
Members of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians tribe and others travel aboard a tribal community canoe called the Jiimaan in the Straits of Mackinac in October 2020. The group was recording the lake bottom for prehistoric submerged artifacts near the Enbridge Line 5 oil pipeline.
Leaders of Michigan’s federally recognized Indigenous tribes recently united to seek the White House’s help in their collective fight to shut down the Line 5 pipeline – particularly the four-mile underwater section in the Great Lakes’ Straits of Mackinac.
President Joe Biden received a collaborative request from Michigan’s 12 federally recognized tribes that make up the Three Fires Confederacy of the Ojibwas, Odawa and Potawatomi to intervene in their ongoing struggle to shut down Line 5 and preserve their treaty rights. Meanwhile, the president received a second letter from a contingent of Republican U.S. Representatives who wished to sway the president to instead keep the petrochemical pipeline flowing.
All 12 federally recognized tribes in Michigan sent a letter to President Joe Biden and his administration Friday, urging him to lend strong support to the state’s effort to shut down the controversial, 78-year-old Line 5 oil pipeline owned by Canadian company Enbridge. “The Governor, the Attorney General, and our Tribal Nations need your Administration’s help,” the letter reads. “… During your campaign, you promised that you would heed our concerns and act to protect our fundamental interests.
“We view Line 5 as an existential threat to our treaty-protected rights, resources, and fundamental way of life as Anishinaabe people of the Great Lakes.”
The 12 tribes — the Bay Mills Indian Community (BMIC), Grand Traverse Bay of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Hannahville Indian Community, Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, Match-e-be-nash-she-wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians (Gun Lake Tribe), Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi Indians, Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan and Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians — make up the Three Fires Confederacy of the Ojibwe, Odawa and Potawatomi. All are publicly opposed to Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline and its proposed tunnel-enclosed replacement in the Straits of Mackinac.
Whitney Gravelle speaks at “Enbridge eviction” celebration,
Conkling Park, Mackinaw City | Laina G. Stebbins,
BMIC President Whitney Gravelle led the effort. The letter was also sent to a list of top state and federal officials, including: U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and his assistant attorneys general; U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland; U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken; Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan; Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel; Gov. Gretchen Whitmer; U.S. Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-Lansing) and Gary Peters (D-Bloomfield Twp.); U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm; U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and more.
Whitmer and Nessel are currently locked in several court battles with Enbridge to shut down the pipeline, all but one of which are on pause right now as a federal judge deliberates if litigation should be heard in state or federal court. Whitmer revoked and terminated Enbridge’s easement with the state last fall and ordered a Line 5 shutdown by the spring, which the company is resisting.
In her notice of revocation and termination, Whitmer cited treaty rights and the concerns of Indigenous citizens in the state as one of the main reasons to shut down the pipeline. She specifically mentioned the 1836 Treaty of Washington, which ceded Ojibwe and Odawa lands in Michigan in exchange for fishing, hunting and gathering rights on the treaty territory.
Biden has so far been silent on the issue of Line 5. It is not clear whether he is supportive of Whitmer’s attempts to shut it down, although the two are close allies.
“In contrast to Canada’s vocal support of Enbridge, and despite what we understand to be the Governor’s requests for help, your Administration has thus far been silent regarding Line 5,” the tribes write. “The juxtaposition could not be more stark and could well be apparent to the federal judge considering the matter.”
“Enbridge eviction” celebration, Conkling Park, Mackinaw City | Laina G. Stebbins
The tribes’ letter makes three main asks of Biden.
1. The first is for the president to file an official statement of interest via the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) affirming the validity of Whitmer’s May 12 shutdown order, which Enbridge has so far to comply with until Whitmer wins a court order. The tribes also ask that his statement of interest urge a speedy judicial resolution of challenges to the shutdown order.
“The Justice Department’s voice carries great weight … Your Administration should not remain silent here,” the letter reads.
2. The second ask is for Biden to seriously consider revocation of the 1991 Presidential Permit that allows the pipeline to operate. Citing Enbridge’s repeated safety violations over the years and their attempts to thwart Whitmer’s shutdown order, the tribes say that this consideration should be taken in the face of Enbridge’s “lawless action.”
3. Lastly, the tribal nations request that Biden provide them with a seat at the negotiating table. Specifically, they ask to be able to participate in any negotiations with Canada regarding the pipeline with a single designated representative. “We possess rights and interests in the integrity of the Great Lakes that date back to time immemorial, and that are protected by solemn treaties with the United States long predating the agreement Canada rests on,” the letter reads.
In early October, Canada signaled that it had formally invoked dispute settlement mechanisms in its 1977 Treaty with the United States that deals with pipelines. The country’s attempts to pause court proceedings in State of Michigan v Enbridge until treaty talks with officials from both countries are complete have so far been unsuccessful. A Biden administration official did not comment directly on the letter in an email on Friday, but said they “expect that both the U.S. and Canada will engage constructively in [the 1977 Treaty] negotiations.
Enbridge sign, St. Ignace | Laina G. Stebbins
“In addition to being one of our closest allies, Canada remains a key U.S. partner in energy trade as well as efforts to address climate change and protect the environment,” the official said.
Enbridge spokesperson Ryan Duffy also did not comment directly on the letter. He said the company supports the tribes’ sovereignty and treaty rights, the federal government upholding those treaty rights, the restoration of treaty rights and the acknowledgment of historical reservation boundaries.
”Many Michigan Gas Furnaces Could Stop Running If Line 5 Ordered To Close.
“There are millions of people and thousands of businesses on both sides of the border who are dependent on Line 5 to provide the fuel they need for heating, manufacturing, airplanes, roads and automobiles. Line 5 is vital energy infrastructure on a daily basis to Michigan, four other states and Canada’s two largest provinces,” Duffy said.
However, the anti-Line 5 Oil & Water Don’t Mix coalition is “actively supportive” of the letter, said spokesman David Holtz. National Wildlife Federation (NWF) Great Lakes Regional Executive Director Mike Shriberg told the Advance that the letter is “powerful and clear” and “represents a significant escalation of the tasks in front of Biden.”
“Canada is attempting to hijack tribal treaty rights, United States and Michigan sovereignty and the U.S. courts on behalf of Enbridge,” Holtz said Friday. “President Biden cannot remain silent while Canada and Enbridge put Michigan and the Great Lakes at risk. The president should support Gov. Whitmer and reject Canada’s attempt to delay the orderly decommissioning of Line 5.” Biden may do just that!!!
“The Biden administration is reportedly weighing the potential market
consequences of shutting down an oil pipeline in Michigan. …”Fox News reported, By Tom Gantert | November 8, 2021
The pipeline, known as Line 5, is 30 inches in diameter and travels from Superior, Wisconsin, through both the Upper and Lower Peninsula of Michigan before ending in Sarnia, Ontario. According to Enbridge, which owns Line 5, closing the 645 mile-long pipeline would mean that Michigan would lose access to 756,000 gallons of propane a day, or 55% of the amount the company supplies to the state. Michigan which has the highest rate of residential propane consumption in the country.
About 315,000 homes in Michigan currently rely on propane, and Line 5 serves an estimated 55% of the state’s propane needs. It provides approximately 65% of the propane used in the Upper Peninsula and northern Michigan, with no readily available alternatives.
A Line 5 shutdown would also cause a shortfall of 14.7 million gallons of gas, diesel and jet fuel each day, Enbridge says. That’s 45% of what it supplies to refineries in Michigan, Ohio and the region.
According to PBF Energy, which operates one of two refineries in Toledo:
A Line 5 shutdown would put Ohio refineries at risk. The closure of one of those refineries could result in the loss of $5.4 billion in annual economic output to Ohio and southeast Michigan, and the loss of thousands of direct and contracted skilled trades jobs.
A Line 5 shutdown would, to varying degrees, compromise crude supply to 10 refineries in the region, directly affecting fuel prices. There are no options for replacing the volume of light crude delivered by Line 5; rail can provide less than 10% of that volume. A Line 5 shutdown puts at least 15% of northwest Ohio’s fuel supply at risk, as well as more than half of the jet fuel supplies for the Detroit Metro Airport.