Line 5 June 2024 Action 2 | Sierra Club Canada

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Subject: Formal written submission to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regarding the draft Environmental Assessment for the extension of Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline.

To the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,

Please find below my formal written submission to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regarding the draft Environmental Assessment for the extension of Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline. Given the nature of the project and its environmental risks, I strongly believe that a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is necessary and that the permit should be rejected. 

We, as Canadians, do not want this pipeline to continue to operate and we are appalled that our government has operated on behalf of Enbridge to attempt to silence Indigenous communities and counteract the wishes of the U.S. people.

Line 5 should be shut down: The entire pipeline, constructed in 1953, pumps 23 million gallons of crude oil over 645 miles every day and is in a rather poor state of repair. Thirty-three incidents have resulted in 4 million litres of oil spilled.

The analysis of public interest must consider the following factors:

A U.S. federal judge ordered the shut down of Line 5 by June 2026 as the pipeline has been trespassing on the Bad River Band reservation since 2013.

The cost of a catastrophic oil spill that experts agree is a matter of when, not if. And if the spill occurs under the Straits of Mackinac, it will have irreversible environmental impact on the nearby waters, plants, animals, and Indigenous and non-indigenous communities across the Great Lakes.

Line 5 represents a clear case of environmental hazard and racism that cannot be justified. The potential ecological damage would not only destroy the rich ecosystem, but also affect traditional ways of living of the Bad River Band and other Ojibwe peoples, who economically largely depend on fishery and wild rice. The 1842 Treaty of La Pointe, guarantees fundamental rights to the Bad River Band and other signatory bands and tribes—rights that are being ignored and trampled upon by plans to construct a new section of the pipeline.

Despite the EPA’s warning about the project’s “substantial and unacceptable” impacts on the Bad River and on the Kakagon-Bad River Sloughs, the Corps failed to adequately acknowledge the risks and overlooked the detrimental impact the conversion of wetlands would have on biodiversity and wildlife.

Enbridge has a deplorable track record of negligence and is not a good faith actor worthy of the public’s trust. They have caused irreversible aquifer damage in Minnesota during the construction of Line 3 using the horizontal directional drilling, and Enbridge now are suggesting the same technique for Line 5. They have been trespassing on reservation lands for years with impunity.

For these compelling reasons, I urge you to take immediate action to halt the operation of Enbridge Line 5. Conduct a full EIS and deny this permit. This decisive step is necessary to protect the environment and uphold the rights of Indigenous peoples.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]

[Postal Code]

Canada