TAKE ACTION
Sign the Petition to ask President Biden to protect the Great Lakes and climate from the Enbridge Line 5 oil pipeline.
Enbridge’s Line 5 oil pipeline threatens the Great Lakes and surrounding states. Enbridge has enlisted Canada to block action by Michigan’s governor to protect us from an outdated and dangerous oil pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac. The imminent danger of an oil spill is clear after the ongoing oil pipeline spill in the Pacific Ocean.
SIGN THE PETITION
Please sign the petition asking President Biden to support Gov. Whitmer’s action to decommission the Line 5 oil pipeline before it ruptures.
Dear President Biden:
We are reaching out to share with you our support for Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s decision to protect the Great Lakes by acting to decommission Enbridge’s Line 5 oil pipelines in the Straits of Mackinac.
These 68-year-old pipelines present a clear and present danger to the Great Lakes. The twin pipelines in the Straits of Mackinac that put 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water and the region’s economy at risk should never have been allowed to be there and in fact, were never subject to modern-day environmental laws and reviews.
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The State of Michigan, as owner and trustee, has a legal responsibility to manage the public-owned bottomlands where Line 5 is located and protect the Great Lakes. Line 5 has spilled at least 33 times and 1.1 million gallons of oil along its length since 1968. Under the best of circumstances, only 30% of a spill in the Straits of Mackinac would be recovered. 1.5 million jobs and $62 billion in wages are directly connected to the Great Lakes. A pipeline rupture could impact up to 400 miles of shoreline
Enbridge’s ongoing and incurable violations of its 1953 easement with the state prompted Gov. Whitmer to revoke the easement to protect the Great Lakes from a catastrophic oil spill. Gov. Whitmer has ordered the removal of these dangerous pipelines by May 2021, but Enbridge, a Canadian-based oil transport giant, is attempting to delay and ultimately defeat the governor’s actions.
At the heart of this dispute is the sovereign authority and title of U.S. states to protect their water resources for the benefit of their citizens under the perpetual public trust and equal footing doctrines.
Your work to make America the world’s “clean energy superpower” and protecting world-class natural and economic resources like the Great Lakes has tremendous support in the Great Lakes State of Michigan. We urge you to support Gov. Whitmer’s action on the Line 5 pipelines.
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May I ask for you to consider supporting Gov. Whitmer in protecting the Great Lakes from Enbridge’s Line 5 oil pipeline? You know, Enbridge does not have America’s natural resources in mind when they want to move their oil for profit. Did you hear about the spill in Kalamazoo years back? It was caused by a failure of Enbridge. I am a wildlife rehabber (specializes in squirrels) and I was heartbroken to hear stories from my friends on the west side of Michigan who rushed to help the wildlife impacted. Then there also have been stories of the people who live along the river where the break happened, oil in their backyards and their home values plummeted.
The Great Lakes are amazing. We have a cabin on Lake Huron (Oscoda, middle knuckle on your left hand index finger). We are already trying to get the Government to clean up the underground toxic plumes left by Wurtsmith AFB. Now the threat of the ancient Line 5 looms.
You know that our natural resources cannot be “bought back.” They are priceless. We want them to be here for our grandchildren’s children. Please continue to make great decisions for America by adding your support to Whitmer’s decision to decommission Enbridge’s Line 5 oil pipeline in the Straights of Mackinac.
It may help if you visit the Michigan Governor’s summer home on Mackinac this summer and take a boat ride out there – even the Secret Service would have a good time. It is absolutely beautiful.
Congratulations, again. So proud of you.
Sincerely,
Elena Wakeman