This Tuesday, in a packed room in Ashland, the legal hearing challenging permits for Enbridge’s proposed Line 5 reroute kicked off. The Bad River Band and several environmental groups, including Sierra Club, have raised serious concerns regarding impacts to wetlands and waterways from pipeline construction, and a judge will hear these arguments in a weeks-long trial.1
The day before the hearing began dozens of water protectors from near and far gathered on the shore of Lake Superior to celebrate the water and why our work is so important. The threat Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline poses to the Great Lakes doesn’t stop here, and we’re working hand in hand with our neighbors in Michigan to protect the whole region. Water doesn’t follow state boundaries, and as Wisconsinites our voice is critical in pushing Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer to take action to protect the Great Lakes.
The captivating, pristine waters of Michigan’s Straits of Mackinac in the heart of the Great Lakes may soon be besieged by enormous machinery, the near-constant sound of construction and blasting, and around-the-clock blinding lights.
For at least six years, Canadian oil giant Enbridge proposes disturbing this iconic waterway to tunnel under the Great Lakes at the critical connection between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. The project is unprecedented and untested and would extend a lifeline to its more than 70-year-old Line 5 pipeline.
Line 5 is already operating in defiance of Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s order that it be shut down by 2021 and illegally without a permit on the Bad River Reservation in Wisconsin since 2013. Studies have shown there is little benefit to the region’s residents in its continued operation and much to be lost, as the likelihood of a catastrophic oil spill grows by the day and threatens our Great Lakes and the 40 million people who rely on it for fresh water.
Take action: Tell the State of Michigan to reject Enbridge’s permit for its proposed tunnel under the Great Lakes at the Straits of Mackinac!
We only have until August 29 to submit comments on this dangerous tunnel project that threatens the livelihoods of everyone who relies on the Great Lakes for work, recreation, and enjoyment.
If the State of Michigan fails us, the famed Mackinac Bridge will soon be flanked by construction cranes taller than the Statue of Liberty, 282 trucks will transport heavy loads over local roads to the site daily, the prized Headlands International Dark Sky Park will cease to be dark, kayakers will face dangerous obstacles due to construction, and anglers will suffer from the destruction of critical spawning grounds for lake trout and whitefish.
Six years of construction and chaos will only compound the environmental hazards we face from this aging pipeline — one that should already be shut down. Construction threatens to release drilling fluids into the Straits during tunneling and introduce runoff contamination from onshore material storage. Meanwhile, gases produced during tunnel construction will create the risk of explosions, all while the aging dual pipelines continue to pump oil on the lakebed above, endangering the entirety of the Great Lakes.
Granting Enbridge a permit for its proposed tunnel under the Straits of Mackinac would be a disaster for communities impacted by years of construction, and would introduce the risk of an even greater catastrophic disaster should the pipeline rupture and spill oil into the Great Lakes.
Submit your comment now, calling on the State of Michigan to reject Enbridge’s permit for its proposed tunnel at the Straits of Mackinac!
Thank you for taking action to protect our Great Lakes.
Sincerely,
Jadine Sonoda
Campaign Coordinator
Sierra Club Wisconsin Chapter
Wisconsin Bail Out the People Movement 
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