Scott Russell
The completion of the Enbridge Line 3 construction has brought up many emotions: heartbroken, angry, and disillusioned, to name a few.
Yet 2021 was also a year of perseverance, movement building, and hope. Under very difficult circumstances, we stood strong for our values. Our capacity to resist pipelines and other fossil fuel projects is much stronger today than it was when we began opposing Line 3.
I have followed and written about this process for four years. As a retired reporter who has sat through far too many government hearings, I was stunned how at every turn the system bent towards Enbridge’s interests.
Members of the "The Squad" visit northern Minnesota on September 4 to hear Indgidenous leaders speak about Line 3 and the experiences of the summer. Photo credit: Indigenous Environmental Network
A year of “We told you so.”
We told state regulators Enbridge couldn’t be trusted. We warned them about Enbridge’s past environmental damage, including the massive 2010 Kalamazoo River spill. Then in September, we learned Enbridge had willfully violated its own construction plans, trenched deeper than approved, and broke through an artesian aquifer cap, releasing more than 24 million gallons of water.
Making matters worse, Enbridge kept the breach hidden through omission from state regulators, leaving it unaddressed for at least nine months. Had it been an accident, Enbridge would have reported it right away and begun repairs, but its willful inaction suggests an intentional cover-up. Enbridge breached the aquifer in January but the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) wasn’t notified until June and the public wasn’t informed until September, when Line 3 construction was all but complete. That’s not only a breach of the aquifer, but also a major breach of trust.
Systemic failures exposed
This year Line 3 exposed the pitifully weak sanctions available under Minnesota state law against corporations doing significant environmental damage. For example, the highest penalty the DNR could impose on Enbridge for the aquifer breach was $20,000. That’s pocket change for a multinational organization like Enbridge and certainly no deterrent for bad behavior.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), which is supposed to be the state’s environmental watchdog agency, had neither bark nor bite on Line 3. It failed its stated mission to protect and improve the environment and human health, and also treated the public like pests when they tried to get the agency to do its job.
At several spots along the pipeline’s route, Enbridge bored tunnels under rivers and wetlands. The process used drilling mud under pressure to lubricate the drill and keep the tunnel open. At many locations this resulted in “frac outs,” where the drilling mud escaped the tunnel and was forced to the surface, polluting waters and wetlands.
Concerned citizens pressed the MPCA for more details on the frac out. Aware of that level of concern, any competent agency serving the public would have proactively posted the information online. Instead, MPCA wasn’t responsive and water protectors had to find legislative allies to finally shake the information loose.
Worse yet, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) allowed Enbridge to select, train, and pay for the “Independent Environmental Monitors” working on behalf of the MPCA and DNR to monitor Line 3 construction. As it turns out, half of the supposedly “independent” monitors had worked for Enbridge in the past and it was those monitors who failed to alert state authorities about the aquifer breach.
What else did they miss?
Treaty People Gathering Lock Down - During the Treaty People Gathering in June, water protectors entered Enbridge sites and locked down to equipment, delaying construction. Photo credit: Keri Pickett
The PUC’s lack of accountability
PUC commissioners praised Line 3’s job creation, citing it as a major reason to approve the project. Enbridge promised half of the construction jobs would be filled locally. However, the PUC didn’t require Enbridge to report local job creation numbers. The precious few numbers that did come out said Minnesotans filled only 33 percent of jobs and worked 28 percent of total hours in the fourth quarter of 2020. After that, Enbridge stopped reporting the jobs data.
During Line 3 hearings, Indigenous nations and Indigenous-led organizations repeatedly raised concerns that the influx of out-of-state laborers would increase the risk of sex and drug trafficking in northern Minnesota. The PUC did almost nothing to address this concern.
Two northern Minnesota human trafficking stings this year resulted in 13 arrests—four of whichwere Line 3 workers. We have anecdotal information from sexual violence centers that service demands increased due to Line 3. But we have no comprehensive information on the harm, because the PUC didn’t require it.
More than 1,000 water protectors were arrested by the state as part of the Line 3 resistance, yet its lax response to Enbridge’s environmental damage and the risks from human trafficking is disappointing to say the least.
We also learned that the PUC doesn’t have to answer public questions and were told the PUC staff can’t speak on behalf of the Commission, and the Commission speaks only through its orders.
Corporate interests over people
The PUC approved an Enbridge-funded Public Safety Escrow Account to reimburse local law enforcement for any Line 3-related expenses. By mid-October, that fund had paid law enforcement agencies $3 million and bills were still coming in. This strengthened the financial ties between the fossil fuels industry and law enforcement.
The state allowed the project to start in December 2020, prior to the COVID vaccines. Native communities, who are more vulnerable to COVID, asked the PUC and the governor to delay construction, but they refused. The influx of out-of-state workers may have exacerbated COVID spread. In short, Gov. Tim Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan’s executive order promising meaningful consultation with Native nations didn’t happen on Line 3.
Women For the Water - Winona LaDuke and other water protectors were arrested shortly after the Women for the Water rally in July, which was attended by Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune. Photo credit: Sarah LittleRedFeather, Honor the Earth
Yet, we still built a movement
While we encountered many setbacks, we formed strong relations and came together to fight for a better future. Thousands of concerned people, young and old, Indigenous, black, brown, and white, and veteran organizers showed up along Line 3 to stand for treaty rights and climate justice. Instead of just getting rubber stamped, this project was a hard fight. Politicians and industry leaders now know Minnesotans will stand and fight.
Water protectors, activists, and everyday people showed up on the frontline to contribute their skills. Church ladies came with carloads of food at resistance camps, musicians brought their talents, Indigenous elders led water-honoring ceremonies, and brave young people locked themselves to equipment to slow construction. Everyone had a role to play.
The public came together too. With deepening concern about the climate crisis, many monitored the Line 3 process and learned how the system works (and doesn’t work) for the first time. We are in a better position today to put pressure on that system to do its job.
Some friends and I created Watch the Line, an online platform for tracking and documenting pipeline construction—a model that’s available for replication for other pipeline resistance efforts across the country. Watch the LIne involved volunteers from the Sierra Club, MN350, Minnesota Interfaith Power and Light, the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, and others, who came together due to our collective work opposing Line 3.
We joined the Stop Line 3 fight because it was a campaign that aligned with our values, and those values haven’t changed. If anything we remain more committed to justice, anti-racism, and a future where communities are not harmed and sacrificed for fossil fuels -- because the fight to stop Line 3 has always been a fight for climate justice and a fossil-free future. We can build a clean, sustainable and just economy that works for all of us. Our movement is powerful, and we are not going anywhere. We will keep pushing forward, lifting our voices for healthy and safe communities and climate justice.
Our work continues as we fight to stop tar sands pipelines in Minnesota and across the world. We will support the frontline resistance, including those who have entered the criminal justice system, and we will work to hold agencies accountable for lack of action.
We are also taking some time to slow down, reflect together, and chart our next steps alongside our trusted partners.
We encourage everyone to get involved in events and write to our political leaders. Thank you for fighting with us to keep our climate stable and our communities healthy for generations to come.
Treaty People Gathering Walk - Treaty People Gathering participants on the march. Photo credit: Keri Pickett
Stop Line 3 day of action
The fight continues to Stop Line 3! On December 14th, one year after the start of direct action to stop construction, we are sharing with you our partners event and continuing our calls to the US Army Corps of Engineers to order a federal Environmental Impact Statement
Twin Cities Location - https://fb.me/e/1jf9ukYqX
Other locations across the Country - https://actionnetwork.org/event_campaigns/dec-14-day-of-action-to-stop-line-3?zipcode=55406&country=US
When: Tuesday, December 14th, times vary
Where: Army Corps Offices across the country
Drop the Charges
Water protectors put their bodies on the line to stop Enbridge's Line 3 pipeline. Police forces – directly funded by Enbridge – have responded to this movement with surveillance, harassment, physical torture ("pain compliance"), and trumped-up charges, including felonies. In this time of climate catastrophe, State and local authorities must listen to water protectors instead of criminalizing and prosecuting them.