Submit Water Discharge Permit Comment

Last Chance to Speak Up: Reject Enbridge’s Line 5 Tunnel

The State of Michigan is now taking public comments on a key water discharge permit for Enbridge’s proposed Line 5 oil tunnel through the Straits of Mackinac.

You may already have told EGLE to reject Enbridge’s Line 5 tunnel permit. Now is one of our last chances to tell the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) and Governor Whitmer to reject Enbridge’s dangerous and unnecessary tunnel project by denying Enbridge permission to pollute the Great Lakes.

What Enbridge Is Asking For

Enbridge is requesting a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit that would authorize the oil company to:

• Dump billions of gallons of wastewater into Lake Michigan - enough to fill 9 Olympic-size swimming pools every day!
• Withdraw up to two million gallons of water per day directly from the lake
• Introduce water treatment chemical additives and pollutants from tunnel-boring heavy machinery, metals, oil, and grease

Enbridge is asking permission to cause irreparable damage to Lake Michigan, one of the world's most ecologically sensitive and important freshwater passages.

Why This Matters

A tunnel would not solve the Line 5 problem. It would extend it for another generation, locking Michigan into Enbridge’s aging oil infrastructure and continued threats to the Great Lakes. Governor Whitmer pledged to shut down Line 5 because it threatens our water. Now her administration must decide whether to help Enbridge build a tunnel to keep Line 5 operating for decades more.

The answer should be no.