Steering Committee

Many organizations across Michigan and beyond are working together to keep oil out of the Great Lakes. Together, we saw a need to organize on behalf of the people of Michigan and those that value and use the Great Lakes, including tourists to our state, to ensure that the corporation that profits by using our public waters and Great Lakes bottomlands does not spoil that which belongs to all of us.

There are over 75 organizations working in various ways to shut down the flow of oil in the Great Lakes. Oil & Water Don't Mix is a campaign, meaning that groups with independent missions and activities are working toward the same goal. The groups listed on this page are the steering committee of O&WDM and are helping to organize the effort by collaborating and communicating with interested groups.

If you agree that we need to keep oil out of the Great Lakes, consider endorsing these efforts. Businesses can endorse here. Citizens can take action here. Organizations can support this campaign by endorsing here.

• CHIPPEWA OTTAWA RESOURCE AUTHORITY - CORA

  The Chippewa Ottawa Resource Authority (“CORA”) was established by the Bay Mills Indian Community, the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, and the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians (collectively, “the Tribes”) for the purpose of ensuring the conservation and wise utilization of the natural resources reserved to the Tribes in the Treaty of March 28, 1836. Enbridge Line 5 is a direct threat to our treaty rights.

• CLEAN WATER ACTION - MICHIGAN

  Since our founding during the campaign to pass the landmark Clean Water Act in 1972, Clean Water Action has worked to win strong health and environmental protections by bringing issue expertise, solution-oriented thinking, and people power to the table. Our Mission is to protect our environment, health, economic well-being and community quality of life. Clean Water Action organizes strong grassroots groups and coalitions, and campaigns to elect environmental candidates and to solve environmental and community problems.

• FLOW - For Love of Water

  FLOW is a nonprofit organization working to ensure the waters of the Great Lakes are protected now and for future generations by recognizing the Great Lakes as a Commons, building deep public awareness and engaging the public and decision-makers about the threats and abuses facing the Great Lakes, and advancing public trust solutions to protect the rights of the people and waters of the Great Lakes Basin.

• GROUNDWORK CENTER FOR RESILIENT COMMUNITIES

  The Groundwork Center—formerly the Michigan Land Use Institute—is a nonprofit advocacy organization that protects the environment, strengthens the economy, and builds community, by collaborating with citizens, government, businesses, and organizations to innovate models for resilience and prosperity. 

• LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF MICHIGAN

  The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization, encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy. We believe that responsible government should be responsive to the will of the people; that government should maintain an equitable and flexible system of taxation, promote the conservation and development of natural resources in the public interest, share in the solution of economic and social problems which affect the general welfare, promote a sound economy and adopt domestic policies which facilitate the solution of international problems. 

• MICHIGAN CLIMATE ACTION NETWORK

  Michigan Climate Action Network is a network of groups and individuals working to build and mobilize a powerful grassroots movement in the Great Lakes state to call for clean energy solutions that will put us on a path to climate stability and climate justice. We support citizen actions that bring urgency and advance progress to slow climate change.

• MICHIGAN ENVIRONMENTAL COUNCIL

  Michigan Environmental Council is a coalition of more than 70 organizations created in 1980 to lead Michigan’s environmental movement in achieving positive change through the political process. MEC combines deep environmental policy expertise with close connections to key state and federal decision-makers, decades of experience getting things done in the political process, and an ability to rally broad and powerful alliances in support of reforms. With our member groups and partners in the public health and faith-based communities, MEC promotes public policies to ensure that Michigan families will enjoy clear waters, clean beaches, beautiful landscapes, and healthy communities for years to come.

• NMEAC - Northern Michigan Environmental Action Council

  Northern Michigan Environmental Action Council proudly calls itself the oldest grassroots environmental advocacy group in Northern Michigan, preserving the natural environment through citizen action and education.

• SIERRA CLUB OF MICHIGAN

  Sierra Club of Michigan is the statewide voice for the nation's oldest, largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization. The Michigan Chapter’s conservation priorities focus on the legacy that every child should inherit -- water you can drink, air you can breathe, lakes safe for swimming, and communities free from poisonous waste; clean and healthy energy from local renewable sources that grow our economy and reduce dependence on dirty fossil fuels; wild places that provide clean rivers, wildlife habitat, and opportunities to fish, hunt, hike, and learn about the natural world; and active participation in a democracy that ensures our elected officials fairly represent their voters, not special interests.

• STRAITS AREA CONCERNED CITIZENS FOR PEACE, JUSTICE AND THE ENVIRONMENT

  We understand national security in terms of access to affordable health care and education, a strong economy, a healthy environment, and a functioning democracy. We believe in basic rights for all. These include the civil rights of assembly, free speech and religion as well as the rights to health care, education, a job, and a clean environment. We seek to promote the peaceful and just resolution of conflict using nonviolent means through educational programming, informing community leaders, holding vigils.

• STRAITS OF MACKINAC ALLIANCE

  The Straits of Mackinac Alliance is a group of citizens who live in the shadow of a spill from Enbridge Line 5. We are challenging the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality’s (MDEQ’s) recent decision to allow Enbridge to install more screw anchors on Line 5 without doing a full review of the risks and alternatives. This is our first legal action, and the first necessary step in getting Michigan to change course, do what is right, and shut down Line 5.

• TC350

  TC350 is a Traverse City area chapter of the national climate organization 350.org. We are people united to take personal and societal action to combat climate change by reducing CO2 emissions to 350 ppm.  TC350 is trying to keep oil out of the Great Lakes - by working to prevent "carbon spills" into the atmosphere - through organizing grassroots public awareness-raising events, such as the July 2013 Oil & Water Don’t Mix: A Rally for the Great Lakes at the Mighty Mac itself. We also work on educating citizens about climate change solutions and actions.