Today, a coalition of Indigenous Tribes and public safety experts presented all the pieces of their compelling case to the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC). They argued against granting a permit for Enbridge Line 5 Tunnel Project. The groups highlighted the grave risks that the Straits of Mackinac pipeline tunnel would pose to Tribal Treaty Rights, Public Safety, and Climate Change efforts in their initial briefs to the Commission.
Bay Mills Indian Community is a Tribal Nation that has lived along the Straits of Mackinac since ancient times and still enjoys treaty-protected waterway access. The Tribe, one of the opposing parties to the project has been vocally opposed to the existing pipeline and tunnel replacement. They have been fighting Enbridge for almost a decade. Bay Mills emphasized to the Commission how building an underwater tunnel for crude oil transport through such ecologically sensitive waters poses a grave risk to its frontline Indigenous communities and fish populations, sacred burial places, and medicinal plant species.
The Straits of Mackinac represent a valuable and culturally sacred part of the ecosystem and should not be lost to corporate greed. Whitney Gravelle, Bay Mills President.It’s not just our water and food that is at risk. It’s our connection to the natural world, cultural identity, and deep sense community that ensures this landscape continues to be alive. This isn’t a tribal fight. We are fighting on behalf all who value the Great Lakes, our environment.
The possibility of a catastrophic explosion that would irreparably damage the Great Lakes and the surrounding communities due to the tunnels’ design is a serious concern. Enbridge’s proposal for a liquids pipeline to be run through an enclosed tunnel creates the conditions that could lead to a major explosion in the Straits. Christopher Clark, an attorney at EarthjusticeThe Tribe is represented before the Public Service Commission by, which together with the Native American Rights Fund. This is not the place or time for such a dangerous experiment.
Climate change is disproportionately ravaging Michigan’s natural resources, economic livelihoods and safety of Tribal Nations. David Gover is an attorney with the Native American Rights Fund.. These communities are also the ones who are facing the most unacceptable risks from the Line 5 pipeline replacement and the new tunnel replacement.
All parties have submitted initial briefs to Commission. They will then have the opportunity to formally reply to each other’s arguments before March 11th.
In a separate, but concurrent permit hearing, Michigan Environmental Protection Act (MEPA), the potential climate impact of proposed fossil fuel infrastructure is being evaluated for the first-ever time in Michigan history. This hearing is also before Michigan Public Service Commission.
This decision to allow considerations of possible climate impacts sets precedent that climate changes are within the scope MEPA. Margrethe Kearney, senior attorney at ELPC, said:. “This means that MEPA can be a more powerful tool to prevent fossil fuel investments that create the worst-case climate scenario.