As pressure mounts to reject the Great Lakes fossil fuel infrastructure project, elected officials must heed the call from Michiganders.
According to recent polling from the Lake Effect newsletter, a majority of Michigan Republicans, Independents, and Democrats oppose Enbridge’s Line 5 oil tunnel project when confronted with the fact that the public would be on the hook for owning fossil fuel infrastructure and giving exclusive leasing rights to a foreign corporation for at least 99 years.
The poll also shows that a majority of Michiganders believe that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer should commit to a full environmental review at the state level for the tunnel project, as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, under the direction of President Trump’s bogus “energy emergency,” is running roughshod with its own permitting process by ignoring key national environmental laws. In response to this news, Sean McBrearty, campaign coordinator for Oil & Water Don’t Mix, issued the following statement:
Email Gov. Whitmer
Tell her to deny the EGLE permit
“Building an oil tunnel in the Straits of Mackinac would harm the environment, destroy Indigenous cultural artifacts, and turn the area into an experimental industrial zone for Enbridge, with cranes almost three times the height of the Mackinac Bridge for years on end. This new polling shows that Michigan residents are deeply concerned about the tunnel’s safety risks, including the threat of an underwater explosion that experts have been sounding the alarm about. A clear majority also wants Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and her administration to look at the complete picture of the tunnel construction’s environmental consequences, which they should follow suit on.
The Line 5 tunnel serves Enbridge's profits, not Great Lakes protection. - Sean McBrearty, Oil & Water Don't Mix
"The Line 5 tunnel serves Enbridge's profits, not Great Lakes protection. Under this scheme, Michigan taxpayers would own the tunnel for 99 years while leasing it to a foreign corporation—an arrangement that rightly concerns Michiganders. This oil tunnel boondoggle should be rejected by Governor Whitmer and EGLE."
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