Last week, over 200 participants gathered over Zoom for the public hearing on the proposed reissuance of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Individual Permit (NPDES) for Enbridge’s proposed Line 5 tunnel through the Straits of Mackinac.
Line 5 is a pair of aging oil pipelines that travels across the bottom of the Straits of Mackinac, where Lake Michigan meets Lake Huron. Enbridge, the Canadian company that owns Line 5, is proposing to replace the Line 5 pipelines with a tunnel that will be bored underneath the lakebed. The U.S. Army Corp. of Engineers (USACE) found that the tunnel will result in detrimental impacts, including loss of wetlands and wildlife habitats; potential release of drilling fluids; construction noise, lights, traffic, and vibrations; limits to recreational resources; and impacts to property values and tourism.
Enbridge is requesting a reissuance of the now-expired NPDES permit that the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) granted in 2021. If re-approved, the permit would allow Enbridge to dump massive amounts of warm waste water into Lake Michigan, take up to 2 million gallons of water per day from Lake Michigan, and discharge unknown toxic chemicals into the water as a result of the tunnel boring. The proposed draft permit and other related documents can be found here.
Out of the 200+ participants at last week’s hearing, around 90 people spoke up and gave public comments in support or opposition to the NPDES permit. EGLE took comments for nearly 6 hours, as the hearing stretched on until almost midnight.
A majority of commenters opposed the permit, noting an array of concerns, including the lack of information on what chemicals Enbridge will be using for water treatment; Enbridge’s lack of trust and various failures at Line 3 in Minnesota and Line 6B in Kalamazoo; the company’s lack of good will in Wisconsin over the Bad River Band territory; concerns on the cultural impact to Indigenous Peoples and safety concerns about the construction camps near Indigenous lands, among others. Folks in attendance also highlighted concerns regarding the safety of dumping potentially contaminated wastewater into Lake Michigan, with several commenters noting that the temperature limit for wastewater as established in the permit was too high for the Great Lake’s cold water ecosystem.
Comments in support of the permit had an eerie familiarity as a number of commenters followed the same formula – establishing that they are a life-long Michiganders who love the outdoors, and highlighting the same language that we see from Enbridge itself about how the tunnel is the “most environmentally sound option” despite heavy evidence to the contrary. Supporters also argued that the tunnel will provide energy security to the Upper Peninsula, despite the fact that most of the fuel transported by Line 5 goes to Canada. There was also support for the permit from industry groups and unions because of alleged job creation.
However, over 60% of commenters opposed the tunnel. And, perhaps the most inspiring part of the evening: a majority of those commenters in opposition appeared to come from young people. The youth are showing up to protect the future from the devastation that the Line 5 tunnel could bring. The youngest commenter of the evening, a 3 (and a half) year old named Lola, spoke with more wisdom than some adults, saying “we can’t drink oil.” A seemingly simple, but essential thought that cannot be lost when it comes to the Great Lakes.
Sacrificing our freshwater, our drinking water, and our survival comes at an incredibly high cost, with little benefit for Michiganders. The great activist, scholar, philosopher, and author Dr. Angela Davis once said: “Youth always leads struggles for change. No revolution has ever happened without young people being in the forefront.” Building on the energy of these young people, Flow encourages readers to submit a comment to EGLE if you haven’t already. This may be the last chance for folks to submit comments urging EGLE to reject Enbridge’s dangerous and unnecessary tunnel project and protect Michigan and the Great Lakes for generations (like little Lola) to come.
