Gabby Brown, gabby.brown@sierraclub.org
Lansing, MI -- The Sierra Club filed an amicus brief with the Ingham County Circuit Court today in support of Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s lawsuit seeking to permanently decommission part of Enbridge's Line 5 pipeline.
Line 5 carries oil and hazardous gas liquids beneath the Straits of Mackinac between Lakes Michigan and Huron. The 66-year old pipeline is deteriorating, with significant gaps in protective coating and multiple significant dents caused both by water currents and collisions by dragged anchors. Enbridge has consistently failed to properly maintain the controversial pipeline, putting the Great Lakes at risk of a devastating oil spill. Enbridge has a track record of egregious safety violations and incidents, including the largest inland pipeline disaster in the United States, the massive July 2010 spill into Michigan’s Kalamazoo River.
Today’s filing supports the Attorney General’s lawsuit, which seeks a court order directing Enbridge to cease operation of the Straits Pipelines as soon as possible and to permanently decommission the pipeline.
Anne Woiwode, Chair of the Sierra Club Michigan Chapter, released the following statement:
“It’s long past time for us to stop letting Enbridge gamble with our water, our economy, and the health and safety of our communities. The 66-year-old, dented, deteriorating Line 5 is a disaster waiting to happen, and we are proud to join Attorney General Nessel in her efforts to protect our Great Lakes from an Enbridge pipeline catastrophe.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.