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Help us by are calling on our state leaders to enforce the easement granted to Enbridge for their Line 5 oil pipelines to be allowed to operate in the Straits of Mackinac.
Take action to protect the Great Lakes from a disastrous oil spill.
Michigan Governor Snyder and Attorney General Schuette:
As you know, the Canadian pipeline company Enbridge pumps almost 23 million gallons of oil every day through its Line 5 pipeline, from Superior, Wisconsin to Sarnia, Ontario.
Enbridge is currently operating in violation of the 1953 easement agreement with the State of Michigan to operate Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac. Turbulent currents and winter conditions make the Straits the worst possible location for a spill. Required supports for Line 5 have washed out for the second time in two years. Independent experts have identified at least seven state and federal violations of this legal agreement with the state.
Since 1988, this 64-year-old pipeline has failed at least fifteen times, dumping about 260,000 gallons of oil on land and in marshes. This pipeline crosses along the bottom of the Great Lakes at the Straits of Mackinac, and through many sensitive inland lakes, rivers, and wetlands.
This pipeline poses an unacceptable risk to our water, ecosystems, health, and economy.
I urge you to act as legal public trustees of our waters and bottomlands to enforce the 1953 Easement and immediately shut down Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac to protect the Great Lakes from a catastrophic oil spill.
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Direction Statement of the Dominican Sisters ~ Grand Rapids
We commit ourselves to foster the contemplative stance that all the earth is sacred and interconnected; respect and accountability for the earth are necessary to the survival of life. We affirm that actions which impact the environment will be preceded by the question: Is this action which I (we) are performing supportive of the environment?
January 23, 2018
Michigan Governor Snyder and Attorney General Schuette:
The Dominican Sisters ~ Grand Rapids have for many decades acclaimed our concern for the Care of Creation. We have named water and the care of the Great Lakes as priority issue for our concern and action.
As you know, the Canadian pipeline company Enbridge pumps almost 23 million gallons of oil every day through its Line 5 pipeline, from Superior, Wisconsin to Sarnia, Ontario.
Enbridge is currently operating in violation of the 1953 easement agreement with the State of Michigan to operate Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac. Turbulent currents and winter conditions make the Straits the worst possible location for a spill. Required supports for Line 5 have washed out for the second time in two years. Independent experts have identified at least seven state and federal violations of this legal agreement with the state.
Since 1988, this 64-year-old pipeline has failed at least fifteen times, dumping about 260,000 gallons of oil on land and in marshes. This pipeline crosses along the bottom of the Great Lakes at the Straits of Mackinac, and through many sensitive inland lakes, rivers, and wetlands.
This pipeline poses an unacceptable risk to our water, ecosystems, health, and economy.
As a member of the Dominican Sisters or their Associate, I urge you to act as legal public trustees of our waters and bottomlands to enforce the 1953 Easement and immediately shut down Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac to protect the Great Lakes from a catastrophic oil spill.