Lee Ziesche, lee.ziesche@sierraclub.org
Levi Teitel, levi@progressmichigan.org
Livestream recording available here
Cincinnati, Ohio - Advocates rallied alongside Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel in downtown Cincinnati today, before her office delivered oral arguments at the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in her lawsuit to shut down and decommission the aging Line 5 crude oil pipeline through the Straits of Mackinac in the Great Lakes.
The deteriorating 71-year-old pipeline, owned by Canada oil giant Enbridge, operates illegally through the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa’s reservation in northern Wisconsin and continues under the Straits of Mackinac in Michigan where the pipeline poses a devastating risk of rupture.
An oil spill from Enbridge’s pipeline in the Great Lakes threatens the drinking water of 40 million people across the United States and Canada.
"One of the very first actions I took in office back in 2019 was to sue Enbridge Energy, challenging the legality of the Line 5 Pipelines in the straits of Mackinac,” said Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel at the rally. “Enbridge had managed to delay justice for three years by playing procedural games. We do not have time to continue along the way we've been going. As Michigan's Attorney General, I will always fight to protect the Great Lakes from the threat of pollution caused by those who put their own profits above our priceless natural resources.”
The Attorney General’s lawsuit, Nessel v Enbridge, was originally filed in 2019 in Michigan, but Enbridge successfully removed the case from state to federal court. Nessel filed a motion to bring the case back to state court, a move supported by over 60 Tribal Nations.
“Enbridge has been operating illegally in Michigan and on tribal lands for the last 3 years. President Joe Biden can protect the Great Lakes by enforcing Governor Whitmer's eviction notice. The fact that they continue to operate illegally proves they are not to be trusted. Protect Michigan. Shut down Enbridge’s Line 5,” said Andrea Pierce, Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians citizen and Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition Policy Manager.
While Enbridge continues to use the US courts as a delay tactic and drags out lawsuits, Tribal Nations and residents of Michigan and Wisconsin are calling on President Joe Biden to step in and revoke a permit to shutdown the pipeline.
“Enbridge cannot be trusted,” said David Holtz, Sierra Club Board of Directors. “Michigan residents remember when Enbridge spilled a million gallons of oil in Kalamazoo after violating laws and claiming their faulty pipeline was safe. By closing America’s most dangerous crude oil pipeline we can protect our Great Lakes, drinking water, the health of our communities, uphold tribal sovereignty, reduce energy costs, and support the transition to clean energy.”
“Today, the people of Michigan have their day in court against a foreign fossil fuel polluter,” said Sean McBrearty, Oil & Water Don’t Mix Campaign Coordinator. “Attorney General Nessel is doing her job to protect Michiganders from the public health threat of an oil spill, but Enbridge continues to defy our Great Lakes way of life by operating this pipeline that’s on life support. We are hopeful that this landmark case against Enbridge will go back to state court where it belongs, because Michigan's future should be shaped by Michigan courts alone.”
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About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of 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.