Enbridge's proposal for a new Line 5 segment jeopardizes our water and wetlands, violates treaty rights, and contradicts the Task Force on Climate Change recommendation to avoid new fossil fuel infrastructure. Submit your comment by August 31, 2024!
Why This Matters
In 2013, Enbridge’s 50-year lease for the Line 5 oil pipeline through the reservation of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa expired. Despite Bad River's request that Enbridge remove the pipeline, Enbridge has refused. In July 2019, the Bad River Band sued Enbridge to force them to remove the pipeline. The risk of an oil spill is too high, given the importance of the water in the area for the Band and Tribal members to fish, gather wild rice, etc.
The pipeline is over 70 years old, and Bad River has found parts of the pipeline that are uncovered, presenting increased risk. Most pipelines are buried, but because of erosion, 50 feet of the pipeline is exposed, and some parts are unsupported because the ground beneath it has eroded away. This is extremely dangerous and could lead to a spill.
Bad River has called on Enbridge to shut down the pipeline and to not replace it in the watershed. All of the rivers in the area flow north towards Lake Superior, through the reservation, so moving the pipeline to a different part of the watershed will not reduce the risk to the waters.
Nonetheless, Enbridge is forging ahead with forcing this "reroute" in an area where people do not want it.
This pipeline poses huge risks to our waterways. Enbridge's proposed route is upstream of Copper Falls State Park. This is all on top of the concerns about the Line 5 pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac, which connects Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.
We need Enbridge to decommission Line 5 to protect Tribal land, the Great Lakes, and the climate. The comment period closes August 31, 2024.
