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Today, Michigan Senate Republicans held a press conference to speed up the permitting process for the Enbridge Line 5 oil tunnel. In response, Sean McBrearty, campaign coordinator for Oil & Water Don’t Mix, issued the following statement:

We can't stand the Enbridge lies the Senators are repeating in this letter. So we fixed it!
READ CORRECTED LETTER 😁

“You would think it’s common sense to have Enbridge check all the proper boxes before building new unneeded and polluting fossil fuel infrastructure in our Great Lakes. Especially since this corporation caused the 2010 pipeline rupture that spilled one million gallons of crude oil along the Kalamazoo River and was the largest inland oil spill in U.S. history. But rather than looking at Enbridge’s reckless track record, Republicans want to fast-track permits for this fossil fuel corporation. Where is the logic in that?

“Our elected officials should stop taking cues from the dirty fossil fuel lobby and instead listen to Michigan residents, including our 12 federally recognized Tribal nations, who are urging President Joe Biden to revoke the presidential permit for Enbridge’s Line 5. Anything short of a shutdown is a grave threat to our environment, tourism, fishing, shipping, and Great Lakes way of life.”

"Rather than looking at Enbridge’s reckless track record, Republicans want to fast-track permits for this fossil fuel corporation. Where is the logic in that? - Sean McBrearty, OWDM Campaign Coordinator

Senate Republicans spouted Enbridge/big-fossil-fuel talking points in a plea to rush through an ill-conceived tunnel plan through the Great Lakes.

Here are the facts about Enbridge and Line 5 that deserve closer scrutiny:

• Enbridge implemented delay tactics in state and federal courts to keep Line 5 open.
• Enbridge continues to change the Line 5 tunnel design, including expanding the tunnel from 10 feet to 21 feet and changing its depth.
• A hasty Enbridge geology study neglected to take the proper number of soil and rock boring samples and negated the importance of a prehistoric hunting site in the tunnel footprint.
• Experts say a tunnel has never been built under the expected pressure conditions.