- Details
- By Native News Online Staff
Four Michigan tribes filed notice on Friday that they will appeal the Michigan Public Service Commission’s (MPSC) recent disastrous approval of a permit for Canadian oil giant Enbridge to build the Line 5 tunnel project beneath the Straits of Mackinac. Opening briefs will be submitted with MPSC in early 2024.
The Bay Mills Indian Community, Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians, and Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi have lived on the lands of present-day Michigan since time immemorial, and they have vigorously opposed the Line 5 tunnel project before the MPSC.
"The MPSC made a bad decision, plain and simple. Although we fought to be heard, they put on their blinders and chose to ignore the critical perspective of Tribal Nations throughout the Great Lakes. Indigenous communities have not once been consulted since 1953 when this pipeline was first constructed. Let me be clear: Line 5 remains a threat to not only the tribes, but anyone and everyone who utilizes the Great Lakes. The question is not if the pipeline will leak, it is when," Bay Mills Indian Community President Whitney Gravelle said in a statement.
President Gravelle continued:
"Studies show that Line 5 could be decommissioned with almost no impact on jobs, gas prices, or fuel supply. Yet the MPSC did not even pause to ask if we still need this pipeline. Instead, they approved a permit to extend the life of Line 5 for another century. They are prolonging the danger of another oil spill in the Great Lakes, the source of 84 percent of North America’s surface freshwater. The tunnel project is based on a flawed design that has never been tried anywhere else and would produce a mountain of waste rock as tall as a twenty-story building and as long as a football field. Worst of all, it would perpetuate the transfer of 23 million gallons of oil per day just when we need to switch to clean energy sources. The MPSC’s decision is a disaster for all of us."
Make A Donation Here
"It’s important to remember that Enbridge does not yet have the final permit they need from the US Army Corps of Engineers to build the tunnel project. As we appeal the MPSC’s disastrous decision, we also demand and expect that the Army Corps conduct a thorough and meaningful environmental impact statement and uphold the treaty trust responsibilities of the United States. We cannot allow history to repeat itself through the destruction of sacred land for private profit."
Enbridge’s proposed tunnel project is opposed by multiple Tribes, businesses, and environmental groups. Line 5 is currently operating in violation of a shutdown order from the Governor of Michigan and in unlawful trespass on the reservation of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa in Wisconsin.
The Native American Rights Fund and Earthjustice represent the Bay Mills Indian Community.
More Stories Like This
Navajo Nation Urges Biden to Halt Uranium Transportation Through Its LandsNavajo Nation Agreement to Settle All Water Rights Claims in Arizona
Biden Expands Two National Monuments in California by 120,000 Acres
Sault Tribe Joins the Fight for Mother Nature’s Legal Rights with New Resolution
Former NCAI President Fawn Sharp Appointed to Nature Conservancy Board
These stories must be heard.
This May, we are highlighting our coverage of Indian boarding schools and their generational impact on Native families and Native communities. Giving survivors of boarding schools and their descendants the opportunity to share their stories is an important step toward healing — not just because they are speaking, but because they are being heard. Their stories must be heard. Help our efforts to make sure Native stories and Native voices are heard in 2024. Please consider a recurring donation to help fund our ongoing coverage of Indian boarding schools. Donate to Native News Online today and support independent Indigenous-centered journalism. Thank you.
