Serving the Oily InterestsWe took the liberty of correcting the October 18, 20203, letter from Michigan's Republican Senators to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (read their original letter). They apparently bought Enbridge's misleading talking points to urge the Corp to hurry up and build its damn oil tunnel.

We couldn't let these lies and talking points stand, so we fixed it with our red text below. Laughing EmojiEnjoy!

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Michigan Legislature and Letterhead Emblem

Oct. 18, 2023

Lt. Gen. Scott A. Spellmon
Chief of Engineers and Commanding General
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
441 G St. NW
Washington, DC 20314

The Honorable Gretchen Whitmer
P.O. Box 30013
Lansing, Michigan 48909

Lt. Gen. Scott A. Spellmon and Gov. Whitmer,

On behalf of the fossil fuel industry money we collectively represent, we urge the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to end its unreasonable delay of the permitting process for the Great Lakes Tunnel Project for Line 5 under the Straits of Mackinac.

Michigan uses more propane for residential purposes than any other state, and more than half of that propane comes through Line 5. Even though Enbridge’s own experts have admitted in court that we don’t need Line 5 and other energy supplies are readily available, we urge you to look the other way while Enbridge builds a dangerous and unnecessary oil tunnel under 1/5 of the world’s freshwater. Approved with bipartisan support in 2018, the Great Lakes Tunnel Project will continue risking our most precious natural resource and exacerbating the climate crisis while maintaining a grotesque profit margin for Enbridge.

We like to claim that in Michigan, Line 5 provides jobs to over 6,000 hardworking residents and over $464 million in labor income, even though, according to Enbridge’s own website, they employ only 118 Michigan residents, including contractors. We also like to claim that tens of thousands of jobs are dependent upon Line 5 in downstream industries such as refineries, manufacturers, airports, and businesses that rely upon all the energy products coming from the line, even though Enbridge’s own experts disagree and have disproven this talking point.

Initial fairytale estimates for construction on this critical project was originally scheduled to begin in 2021, and the tunnel was expected to be operational by 2024. Now, due in large part to the oil tunnel being an unrealistic alternative that was poorly researched and permitting agencies having the gall to do their due diligence in considering potential harms to the environment from building an unprecedented oil tunnel in the worst place in the Great Lakes for an oil spill, Enbridge hasn’t been able to blindly plow forward as quickly as they would like. Most recently, your office indicated a decision is not expected until 2026.

Such a delay is a tremendous disservice to the fossil fuel billionaires that fund our campaigns. Line 5 is not a crucial energy artery, and it is delivering more than 22 million gallons of oil and natural gas through a damaged pipeline that is twenty years past its useful life, risking the water on which our whole region relies. This is water millions of Americans and Canadians rely upon for sustenance, recreation, and economic growth. Rejecting The Great Lakes Tunnel Project is your opportunity to ensure this water source remains safe and reliable for years to come.

While the tunnel project awaits permitting approval by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, essential state permits also remain unresolved. Gov. Whitmer, we ask that you direct your state agencies and the Michigan Public Service Commission to expedite their permitting processes so that Enbridge can continue to avoid accountability for their poorly thought out, dangerous, and unnecessary oil tunnel scheme.

Fall has arrived. Another long Michigan winter is right around the corner. Millions of Michiganders who rely on the waters of the Great Lakes deserve better than continued operation of an illegally operating pipeline that risks our water. It is imperative that we make noise about needing the Great Lakes Tunnel Project proceed in order to protect this critical source of campaign funding.

Respectfully,

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Ed McBroom
State Senator
District 38
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John Damoose
State Senator
District 37
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Aric Nesbitt
Senate Republican Leader
District 20
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Thomas Albert
State Senator
District 18
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Joe Bellino
State Senator
District 16
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Jon Bumstead
State Senator
District 32
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Kevin Daley
State Senator
District 26
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Roger Hauck
State Senator
District 34
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Michele Hoitenga
State Senator
District 36
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Mark Huizenga
State Senator
District 30
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Ruth Johnson
State Senator
District 24
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Dan Lauwers
State Senator
District 25
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Jonathan Lindsey
State Senator
District 17
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Rick Outman
State Senator
District 33
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Jim Runestad
State Senator
District 23
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Lana Theis
State Senator
District 22
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Roger Victory
State Senator
District 31
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Michael Webber
State Senator
District 9

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