Enbridge 2 line 3 5 da pl

619 this will be enbridge 2see pipeline and tar sands=621 ding dong XL! line 3 same capacity and mission tar sands
<h1 class="widgetheadline h1"><a class="widgetheadline-text custom-post-headline" href="https://www.alternet.org/2021/06/line-3-biden/" aria-label="'Which side are you on?': Protesters call on Biden to stop Line 3" data-type="text">Which side are you on?': Protesters call on Biden to stop Line 3

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        <font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a class="social-author__name" href="https://www.alternet.org/author/brett_wilkins" data-type="text">Brett Wilkins</a>
        
        <a class="social-author__name" href="https://www.alternet.org/author/common-dreams" data-type="text">Common Dreams</a>

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<div class="body js-expandable clearfix js-listicle-body css-listicle-body-2653272370"><div class="body-description">In

what organizers are calling the largest-ever demonstration of its kind

in Minnesota history, more than 2,000 Indigenous-led water protectors on

Monday continued nonviolent, direct...</div></div>=
921no link oIL COMPANY OFFICIAL OVERSEEING CRACKDOWN ON PIPELINE RESISTANCE CUT TEETH AT AMAZON AND EXXONIn the small world of corporate security, officials like Enbridge’s Troy Kirby take counterinsurgency practices from one megacompany to another.Alleen BrownAlleen BrownSeptember 17 2021,Policing the PipelinePart 15When the oil company Enbridge sought to build its Line 3 pipeline through northern Minnesota, it faced opposition from Indigenous-led water protectors. The company moved to coordinate with local police as they cracked down on the resistance.
 EXPAND ALL PARTSTHE HEAD OF security for the oil transport company Enbridge built his résumé managing Exxon Mobil’s response to community protests in Nigeria and helping oversee Amazon’s Global Security Operations Center, a division that has monitored environmental groups and union organizers.Now, at Enbridge, Troy Kirby oversees efforts to combat a protest movement aimed at stopping construction of the company’s Line 3 pipeline in Minnesota. Enbridge’s security operation has drawn criticism for its efforts to influence the police response to the Indigenous-led movement, whose members are known as water protectors.“These are the people that specialize in the dark arts. Maybe it’s a bit more banal than we might imagine, but these are the spooks.”Enbridge’s response to the water protectors is part of a pattern of megacorporations working to quell resistance to their environmentally harmful activities. Enbridge’s close cooperation with police, including payments and intelligence sharing, has been deemed by academics and water protector critics as emblematic of corporate counterinsurgency — a suite of tactics, ranging from public relations campaigns to surveillance and support for armed force, designed to win over communities to controversial profit-making projects.“You have companies that have entire departments dedicated to making sure you stay in your place, that you don’t resist, that you don’t talk about it, and you most certainly don’t act on it,” said Alexander Dunlap, a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Oslo, who has written extensively about how corporations utilize counterinsurgency tactics to quell movements against environmental degradation. “These are the people that specialize in the dark arts. Maybe it’s a bit more banal than we might imagine, but these are the spooks.”Policing the PipelineAn Enbridge spokesperson said the company supports the rights of individuals to protest lawfully and peacefully. “Security teams use a ‘people first’ concept to ensure public safety — their mission is to observe, respond, and report safety issues,” said Juli Kellner, a communications specialist for the company. Kellner did not make Kirby available for an interview.As this story was being reported, Kirby’s Amazon job description was deleted from his LinkedIn page.AS SOPHISTICATED CORPORATE security efforts have burgeoned, lucrative positions lure specialists from company to company, linking together the practices of megacorporations. Kirby, for his part, started at Enbridge in 2019 after a three-year stint as Amazon’s head of corporate security throughout the Americas, according to LinkedIn. Part of his role included overseeing the online giant’s Global Security Operations Center. Internal Amazon documents dated to the year Kirby left, obtained by Vice, provide clues. According to the report, security personnel with the center used Facebook and Instagram to monitor environmental groups as well as union organizers.In Poland, operatives working for the private security company Pinkerton were sent to an Amazon warehouse to investigate reports of employee misconduct, Vice reported. Pinkerton got its start in the late 19th century, using undercover operatives and agents provocateurs to bust unions. The firm is now a subsidiary of the private security giant Securitas — one of the companies providing security for Enbridge’s Line 3 pipeline in Minnesota.Before Amazon, Kirby spent 16 years doing security work for Exxon Mobil. For at least four years, he worked for Exxon in Nigeria — where there is a history of energy company complicity in human rights abuses. During his time in Nigeria, Kirby was an adviser on “strategic security countermeasures,” which involved managing so-called crises, including pirate attacks and kidnapping, as well as “community protests,” according to a section of his LinkedIn page that has since been deleted.As in Minnesota, the work in Nigeria included collaborating closely with public agencies. Kirby’s LinkedIn page said he “Established a Nigerian based security network with private and public sector security leaders” and was involved in “Oversight of host government security forces.”The Exxon Mobil security operation was heavily militarized and focused in part on Exxon’s offshore oil operations. Kirby described designing a “Security Maritime Operations center including a fleet of 17 military-grade security vessels.”FOR CRITICS OF corporate counterinsurgency, Kirby stands as just one example of corporate officials steeped in highly militarized security efforts abroad bringing those practices back home.“To corporate entities like Energy Transfer and Enbridge, water protectors and land defenders are perceived as ‘security threats’ endangering shareholders’ profits.”“It’s telling, but not at all surprising, that the head of security for Enbridge has trained in the so-called Third World to deal with high-stakes security issues impacting corporations in Africa and the Americas,” said Natali Segovia, an attorney and the legal director for the Water Protector Legal Collective. The collective is representing opponents of Energy Transfer’s Dakota Access pipeline, who argue that aggressive law enforcement tactics used near the Standing Rock reservation were influenced by the contract security firm TigerSwan, run by special operations military veterans. “To corporate entities like Energy Transfer and Enbridge, water protectors and land defenders are perceived as ‘security threats’ endangering shareholders’ profits,” Segovia said.Kirby appears to have put some of the lessons he learned with Exxon Mobil in Nigeria into practice on Enbridge‘s project in Minnesota. Under Kirby’s watch, Enbridge pays law enforcement for pipeline-related police activity. The company’s security team members have set up trainings for local law enforcement and have been invited to attend public safety officials’ intelligence sharing meetings, where information on individual pipeline opponents has been discussed.[RelatedMinnesota Law Enforcement Shared Intelligence on Protest Organizers With Pipeline Company]In advance of Line 3 pipeline construction, Kirby planned meetings with local law enforcement officers to discuss Enbridge’s approach to responding to opposition. When a local sheriff expressed concern over whether law enforcement agencies would be reimbursed for pipeline-related expenses, Kirby reassured him that the security head had influence over the appointment of the public official who would approve reimbursement requests, according to the sheriff. As the sheriff recalled in an email, Kirby told him “he would be involved to ensure we are taken care of, one way or another.”It’s Kirby’s colleague Brian Aldrich, Enbridge’s Line 3 security lead, who has worked more routinely on the ground in Minnesota. Aldrich, according to an email sent to state officials, served with the Marines before working for large security firms including Control Risks and Gavin DeBecker and Associates. He also has an Amazon connection — providing personal security for the corporate giant’s founder and executive chair, Jeff Bezos himself.=intercept 921 eileen brn?<div data-reactid="218" style="box-sizing: border-box;">POLICE RESPONSIBLE FOR public safety surrounding the construction of an oil pipeline in Minnesota have repeatedly denied having a close relationship with Enbridge, the company behind the controversial energy project. According to records obtained by The Intercept through public information requests, however, Enbridge has provided repeated trainings for officers designed to cultivate a coordinated response to protests.By the time construction on Line 3, a tar sands oil pipeline, began last December, a working relationship had been established between Enbridge and police officers. A public safety official even invited the company’s Line 3 security chief to regular intelligence sharing meetings. In one case, the official passed along intelligence to Enbridge’s security chief for Line 3: a list of people who attended an anti-pipeline organizing meeting.Line 3 opponents have long raised concerns about payments made to law enforcement by Enbridge to cover pipeline-related policing. A special account set up by the state of Minnesota has distributed $2.3 million in Enbridge funds to public safety agencies so far. The records shed new light on the level of close coordination between law enforcement agencies and the Canadian oil company to police the Indigenous-led movement to stop Line 3.</div><blockquote class="Pullquote Pullquote--right" data-reactid="219" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; box-shadow: none; line-height: 1.125; float: right; max-width: 55%;"><span class="Pullquote-line" data-reactid="220" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; position: relative; bottom: -4px; width: 2em; height: 0.7em; margin-right: 0.3em; float: left; background-color: rgb(17, 17, 17);"><div data-reactid="221" style="box-sizing: border-box;">“Local law enforcement has become the brutal arm of a Canadian corporation.”</div></blockquote><div data-reactid="222" style="box-sizing: border-box;">“Local law enforcement has become the brutal arm of a Canadian corporation,” said Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, director of the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund’s Center for Protest Law and Litigation and an attorney representing opponents of the pipeline. “It’s highly inappropriate for law enforcement to target people based on First Amendment activity, collect identity information and then deliver that information to their political opponents.”The effort to halt the Line 3 pipeline is the latest flashpoint in the movement to end development of new fossil fuel infrastructure amid a growing climate crisis. In Minnesota, members of the Indigenous-led resistance, known as water protectors, have turned to tactics that directly disrupt construction, sometimes trespassing on private property, blocking roads, or locking down to pipeline company equipment."Community police and sheriff deputies are responsible for public safety,” Enbridge spokesperson Juli Kellner told The Intercept. “Our security call the police when a disturbance occurs. Officers decide when an individual is breaking the law — or putting themselves or others in danger.”</div><div data-reactid="233" style="box-sizing: border-box;">How law enforcement responds to the protest movement is a matter of training and discretion. The documents obtained by The Intercept suggest that Enbridge has stepped in to influence officers’ choices.Water protectors point to the close working relationship between Enbridge and law enforcement to explain escalating police tactics, with rubber bullets and other “less-lethal” weapons deployed in recent weeks.<h3 style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1; margin: 1em 0px; font-kerning: normal; font-feature-settings: " kern="kern">Plans to Coordinate</h3>Emails between Enbridge and members of the Northern Lights Task Force — a group consisting of sheriffs and public safety officials coordinating plans for expected protests against Line 3 — <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21049691-enbridge-coordinates-training-exercises-with-public-officials" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">describe</a> several <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21049689-deer-river-tabletop-exercise-situation-manual" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">joint</a> training <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21049692-enbridge-email-with-deer-river-tabletop-exercise-situation-manual-and-call-in-information" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">exercises</a> and other coordination <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21049694-enbrige-official-emails-law-enforcement-about-sensitive-security-information-meeting" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">meetings</a> set up by the energy firm. The largest of the trainings was in Bemidji, Minnesota.In October 2020, according to emails, Enbridge organized an all-day training at the company’s Bemidji Emergency Operations Center. According to an email sent a day before the event, dozens of Enbridge employees, public safety officials, including local sheriffs along the pipeline route, and an FBI agent were invited to attend. A primary goal for the event: “Coordination between Line 3 project team and L.P.” — an acronym that typically refers to “local police.”</div><div class="PromoteRelatedPost-promo" data-reactid="234" style="box-sizing: border-box; border-top: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); padding: 20px 0px 10px; margin: 7px 40px 20px 0px; float: left; width: 400px;"><a class="PromoteRelatedPost-promo-link" href="https://theintercept.com/2021/07/07/line-3-pipeline-minnesota-counterinsurgency/" data-reactid="235" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none; display: flex; flex-direction: row;" /><div class="PromoteRelatedPost-promo-link-thumbnail" data-reactid="236" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding-right: 20px; position: relative; z-index: 1;"><a class="PromoteRelatedPost-promo-link" href="https://theintercept.com/2021/07/07/line-3-pipeline-minnesota-counterinsurgency/" data-reactid="235" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none; display: flex; flex-direction: row;" /><a class="PromoteRelatedPost-promo-link" href="https://theintercept.com/2021/07/07/line-3-pipeline-minnesota-counterinsurgency/" data-reactid="235" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none; display: flex; flex-direction: row;" /><a class="PromoteRelatedPost-promo-link" href="https://theintercept.com/2021/07/07/line-3-pipeline-minnesota-counterinsurgency/" data-reactid="235" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none; display: flex; flex-direction: row;" /><a class="PromoteRelatedPost-promo-link" href="https://theintercept.com/2021/07/07/line-3-pipeline-minnesota-counterinsurgency/" data-reactid="235" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none; display: flex; flex-direction: row;">
</a></div><div class="PromoteRelatedPost-promo-link-text" data-reactid="238" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><h2 class="PromoteRelatedPost-promo-link-eyebrow" data-reactid="239" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: normal; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 0.3em; font-kerning: normal; font-feature-settings: " kern="kern" padding-bottom="padding-bottom" px="px">Related</h2><h3 class="PromoteRelatedPost-promo-link-title" data-reactid="240" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; font-kerning: normal; font-feature-settings: " kern="kern">Indigenous Water Protectors Face Off With an Oil Company and Police Over a Minnesota Pipeline</h3></div></div><div data-reactid="241" style="box-sizing: border-box;">The <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21049690-enbridge-and-minnesota-police-emails-ahead-of-joint-exercise-on-pipeline-protests" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">email</a> sent out ahead of the training included a series of “<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21049695-incident-briefing-for-joint-exercise-by-minnesota-officials-and-enbrige-on-pipeline-protests" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Incident Briefing Maps</a>” laying out scenarios where Enbridge and law enforcement might need to coordinate a response. The various scenarios had something in common: They all involved protests.The list of scenarios — which were drawn up by the Response Group, a <a href="https://www.mercurynews.com/2010/06/15/lawmakers-attack-oil-companies-spill-plans/" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">controversial</a> crisis management firm that works for the energy industry — laid out four possible events: demonstrators blocking traffic, the breach of a construction site, “swarming” of a pipeline hub while streaming on social media, and project opponents locking themselves to the gate of an Enbridge office.Training participants would be asked to come up with a plan to respond to each of the scenarios, as well as to develop an “Information and Communication Strategy” to keep government agencies, the public, and the media informed of what was happening, according to a list of exercise objectives. Enbridge <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21049701-planning-email-for-october-joint-exercise-with-enbridge-and-police" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">planned to discuss</a> providing local law enforcement with a project radio, according to an email describing the exercise.<a class="Promo-link" href="https://theintercept.com/2021/09/01/fbi-spy-plane-alazhari-surveillance/" style="letter-spacing: 0.05em; text-transform: uppercase; box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none; display: inline !important;" /><div class="GridRow" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-left: -20px; margin-right: -20px; height: 169.5px; width: auto !important; display: inline !important;"><div class="Promo-text" style="box-sizing: border-box; overflow: visible; width: 191.25px; padding: 0px; display: inline !important;"><div class="Promo-title-block" style="box-sizing: border-box; width: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; line-height: 18px; margin-top: 10px; display: inline !important;"><div class="Promo-author" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px; display: inline !important;"><a class="Promo-link" href="https://theintercept.com/2021/09/01/fbi-spy-plane-alazhari-surveillance/" style="letter-spacing: 0.05em; text-transform: uppercase; box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none; display: inline !important;">o</a></div></div></div></div></div><div data-reactid="243" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a class="Promo-link" href="https://theintercept.com/2021/09/01/fbi-spy-plane-alazhari-surveillance/" style="letter-spacing: 0.05em; text-transform: uppercase; box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none; display: inline !important;">It wasn’t the first conversation of its kind. In </a><a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21049700-notes-from-enbridge-and-northern-lights-task-force-april-coordination-call" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">advance</a> of a smaller version of the exercise, back in April, members of the Northern Lights Task Force <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21049688-carleton-county-minnesota-sheriff-april-email-about-joint-exercise-with-enbridge" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">filled out</a> a <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21049693-enbridge-line-3-distance-workshop-questionnaire-completed-by-minnesota-officials" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">questionnaire</a> for Enbridge. The public safety officials noted that it was a “priority” for law enforcement to obtain access to Enbridge security camera feeds. It also referenced the possibility of placing an Enbridge liaison inside the two law enforcement emergency operations centers, as well as a law enforcement liaison in Enbridge’s emergency operations center.The Northern Lights Task Force’s communications team did not answer a detailed list of questions. Aitkin County Sheriff Dan Guida, a member of the task force, said his office never received a project radio nor saw other agencies with one. Guida said that the scenarios served to show law enforcement how Enbridge runs its emergency operations center. “It was for Enbridge to learn. We didn’t get trained by Enbridge,” he said, adding that law enforcement might carry out a similar exercise with a bank. “We assisted them and told them this is how we do it, you do your own thing.”It’s not clear how many officers attended the trainings offered by Enbridge. Clearwater County Sheriff Darin Halverson was copied on the invite and RSVP’d that he would attend an additional Enbridge security exercise as well as a “<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21049694-enbrige-official-emails-law-enforcement-about-sensitive-security-information-meeting" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">sensitive security information</a>” meeting. He told The Intercept that he did not attend any of the gatherings.<h3 style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1; margin: 1em 0px; font-kerning: normal; font-feature-settings: " kern="kern">Sharing Intelligence</h3>By the time construction on Line 3 began, a comfortable working relationship appeared to have been established between Enbridge and some of the public safety agencies invited to the company’s meetings. Public officials repeatedly expressed interest in exchanging information on pipeline opposition with Enbridge.In December 2020, a St. Louis County sheriff’s deputy distributed language to be used by officers issuing dispersal orders during protests against Line 3 and also sent a list of potential charges that could be applied to pipeline protesters. Another officer <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21049698-minnesota-police-email-about-dispersal-orders-statutes-for-charging-and-enbridge-videotaping" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">responded</a>, noting that it would be legal to arrest water protectors even if they trespassed without a law enforcement officer present. “Hopefully Enbridge security would be videotaping when able,” the officer said. Other documents affirmed that Enbridge security would be wearing body cameras.The Northern Lights Task Force, the group of public safety officials, occasionally suggested that Enbridge should be excluded from planning, the documents show. In November 2020, Guida, the Aitkin County sheriff, copied Enbridge public information officers on an email about the task force’s public messaging strategy. Another sheriff advised that the corporate representatives did not belong in the group: “It is not a good idea to have Enbridge employees in our group, but they would certainly be good contacts to have to know what info is being put out,” wrote Carlton County Sheriff Kelly Lake. (Guida told The Intercept he copied Enbridge on the email so that law enforcement and the company could avoid mixed or duplicate messages.)In other cases, public safety officials actively sought out Enbridge security to assist with law enforcement officers’ efforts, inviting an Enbridge representative to share space and attend meetings. St. Louis County Emergency Management Coordinator Duane Johnson copied Enbridge’s security lead for the Line 3 project on an email inviting first responders to work out of the law enforcement emergency operations center as they monitored intelligence on a potential direct action the next day. “There is considerable intel on something brewing tomorrow. Let me know if you’d like to come over and work out of the EOC tomorrow just in case something pops,” the official <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21049696-invitation-to-work-out-of-public-emergency-operations-center" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">wrote</a>, referring to the emergency operations center.In another email, Johnson <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21049697-minnesota-official-invites-enbridge-official-to-police-intelligence-meetings" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">requested</a> that Enbridge’s Line 3 security lead attend regular intelligence meetings. “We have missed you on our 0900 intel meetings. Is there another time that would work better for you?” asked the emergency management coordinator in a January 2021 email. “It would be nice to have someone from your company on.”The Enbridge security officer was kept in the loop. The next day, Johnson <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21049699-minnesota-public-safety-official-shares-intelligence-on-anti-pipeline-organizing-meeting-with-enbridge" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">copied him</a> on another email, forwarding a list of names of water protectors who had attended a “Line 3 Organizing Meeting” the night before.“It was all I really got from last night,” Bruce Blacketter, emergency management director for the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, wrote to Johnson in the forwarded email. “Well, this and a slight ‘back of the head’ headache from the musical performances and guided breathing/stretching exercises.”St. Louis County did not respond to a request for comment, and the Fond du Lac Band declined to comment.</div>=<a href="https://theintercept.com/2021/02/10/police-minnesota-enbridge-pipeline-ppe/">https://theintercept.com/2021/02/10/police-minnesota-enbridge-pipeline-ppe/</a>no lnxMINNESOTA POLICE WANT A PIPELINE COMPANY TO PAY FOR WEAPONS CLAIMED AS PPEPolice monitoring Enbridge Line 3 pipeline opponents submitted invoices for tear gas, batons, flash-bang grenades, and other riot gear.Alleen BrownAlleen BrownFebruary 10 2021, 3:00 a.m.A MINNESOTA SHERIFF’S OFFICE has requested that the tar sands pipeline company Enbridge reimburse the department for nearly $72,000 worth of riot gear and more than $10,000 in “less than lethal” weapons and ammunition, including tear gas, pepper spray, bean bag and sponge rounds, flash-bang devices, and batons. The sheriff’s office of Beltrami County, which sits at the center of an Indigenous-led fight to stop the construction of Enbridge’s Line 3 pipeline replacement project, labeled the weapons as “personal protective equipment.”
The invoices, some of which were first described by the blog Healing Minnesota Stories, await review by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. The agency maintains an escrow account set up so that Enbridge can reimburse public safety agencies for expenses associated with Line 3 construction, especially costs for policing protests. In its construction permit, the utilities commission clarified that the fund “may not be used to reimburse expenses for equipment, except for personal protective gear for public safety personnel.” The commissioners did not define the term “personal protective gear.”“I don’t think by any stretch of the imagination batons could be considered PPE — or grenades,” said Tara Houska, an organizer with the anti-Line 3 Giniw Collective. “Those are obviously militarized equipment to be used to subdue and oppress the Indigenous people and allies that are resisting this project from going through our territory.”
The Beltrami County Sheriff’s Office did not answer a detailed request for comment.
For nearly a decade, Anishinaabe organizers have fought to stop Line 3, which passes through their treaty lands and traditional territory. Enbridge is replacing a deteriorating pipeline with a new, higher-capacity line that would allow the struggling tar sands industry of Alberta, Canada, to more cheaply send its oil to a transport hub in Wisconsin and then on to refineries on the Gulf Coast. Opponents point to the spill risk the project poses to more than 200 streams and 700 acres of wetlands, as well as the fact that tar sands oil is one of the world’s worst fossil fuels for the climate. One researcher found that the project’s annual carbon output would be equivalent to 50 coal-fired power plants.
So far project opponents haven’t seen law enforcement deploy the munitions that were purchased, said Genna Mastellone of the Line 3 Legal Defense Fund. Since construction began in December, however, she said sheriff’s offices in half a dozen counties have arrested more than 100 project opponents for attempts to stop construction, including by locking themselves to equipment, climbing inside sections of the pipeline, and blocking workers from accessing construction sites.

Minnesota Police Want a Pipeline Company to Pay for Weapons Claimed as PPE7 pages“Maintaining Peace”The invoices show that the Beltrami County Sheriff’s Office began purchasing riot gear to respond to Line 3 protests in April 2016, in the immediate aftermath of massive protests against the Dakota Access pipeline near the Standing Rock reservation in North Dakota. Local agencies spent at least $38 million on a militarized response that involved the use of water hoses, tear gas, and other “less than lethal” weapons. As of last summer, North Dakota was still seeking to recover the full expense from the Army Corps of Engineers, which manages much of the land on which resistance camps were located. Pipeline parent company Energy Transfer chipped in $15 million.
The Enbridge escrow account was designed to prevent a similar scenario in Minnesota by providing a means for the company responsible for the project to reimburse law enforcement for “maintaining peace in and around the construction site.” Law enforcement and public safety agencies are also invited to request repayment for traffic control, oversight of private security companies, and public health services related to construction. Some of the money could additionally be used for grants to deal with drug and human trafficking, problems associated with an influx of temporary workers. The Public Utilities Commission permit required Enbridge to deposit an initial $250,000 into the account.
Last October, the commission amended the permit to address “concerns about the type of equipment that might be used to ensure peace and safety in and around the construction and removal sites.” The amendment notes that “the Public Safety Escrow account may not be used to reimburse expenses for equipment, except for personal protective gear for public safety personnel.”
At a meeting last June, Commissioner John Tuma said that the aim of the fund was to reimburse things like overtime. “The state is not going to go around and buy stuff. That was never the intent here,” he said.
Commissioner Katie Sieben, who submitted the amendment, clarified that there should be opportunities for law enforcement to buy protective gear.
Another member of the commission, Matthew Schuerger, said that he supported the amendment but expressed misgivings. “We’re talking about law enforcement regarding folks that, to our knowledge, are going to be gathering peacefully to exercise their First Amendment rights. I am concerned about what we’re supporting and funding,” he said. He later asked how personal protective gear is defined.
“Things like a shield or turtle suit to protect law enforcement personnel in case there is any disturbance,” Sieben replied.
Ultimately, where Enbridge’s money goes will be decided by the escrow account manager, a position that was filled only last week. The new manager, Richard Hart, is a 30-year law enforcement veteran, most recently serving as deputy chief of the Bloomington Police Department for six years before moving to a position as an investigator for the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office.
Regardless of which items Hart decides Enbridge should pay for, the Beltrami County Sheriff’s Office has bought far more than protective suits and shields.

Minnesota Police Want a Pipeline Company to Pay for Weapons Claimed as PPE2 pagesCS Tear Gas Grenades, Sharpies, and SawsOf more than $190,000 in expenses that the Beltrami County Sheriff’s Office invoiced to the escrow account, at least $130,000 could be considered equipment, including nearly $20,000 worth of protective suits and shields. But the county also bought Sharpies, cameras, toolboxes, and saws to remove protesters who lock themselves to equipment.
In December 2016, the sheriff’s office purchased batons, shields, flashlight cases, and gas masks, most likely to protect law enforcement from their own tear gas — all described as “personal protective equipment” in an invoice submitted to the Public Utilities Commission in November.
Other invoices describe weapons as “PPE Equipment to use during Civil Disobedience events.” The sheriff’s office used the label on a request for reimbursement for an array of “less than lethal” weapons purchased last summer, when the department spent $1,074.40 on 40 CS tear gas grenades, $551.75 on 25 CS tear gas projectiles, and $1,975 on a launcher — all manufactured by Defense Technology.
Studies indicate that such chemicals can increase individuals’ risk of contracting respiratory illnesses. In an open letter written in the wake of uprisings over George Floyd’s killing by Minneapolis police this past summer, more than 1,000 health professionals recommended that police “oppose any use of tear gas, smoke, or other respiratory irritants, which could increase risk for COVID-19 by making the respiratory tract more susceptible to infection, exacerbating existing inflammation, and inducing coughing.”
Houska said project opponents now hold actions almost daily in below-freezing temperatures along the 337 miles of pipeline in Minnesota as they press the Biden administration to halt construction. “We’re fighting with every last bit of creativity and energy and collective power that we have to try to delay construction,” said Houska. “Our hope lies with the Biden administration and with, more importantly, the people. We’re in a climate crisis where the people need to stand with the earth.”=1120 ladukeFor seven years, we have fought this project in the regulatory process of Minnesota, and despite almost 70,000 people testifying against the pipeline, and the clear need to deny this project on environmental, social and economic grounds, Minnesota's Governor Tim Walz approved the final permits for the pipeline. This leaves tribes, Honor the Earth, and citizen groups to uphold the interests of the water and wild rice in Court. (We are, however, joined in our appeal by another state agency- the Minnesota Department of Commerce seeks to overturn the pipeline approvals as not meeting the requirements for a certificate of need, nor meeting route permit requirements.) The appeals will grow, as will the resistance. <a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="http://click.emails.sierraclub.org/?qs=5362845fb2d9873055fc176191dfa91b8ee69f7b13976a160ca1a9af576c9ea19f3ec5633c6ceed94f1ac9be38a7ce19ee071fb80280d277" title="But we need your support right now to stand for our water. We stand with our lawyers, and we stand with our people. Please make your gift to now help our cause." style="">But we need your support right now to stand for our water. We stand with our lawyers, and we stand with our people. Please make your gift to now help our cause.</a> It's ironic that one day after Minnesota Governor Tim Walz approved the final state permits for Line 3, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer revoked the 1953 easement that allows Enbridge to operate pipelines through the Straits of Mackinac. Governor Whitmer, acted under the state's public trust doctrine, which requires state authorities to protect the Great Lakes. The pipeline in question, known as Line 5, has been in operation since the 1950s. It carries the oil which would move in Line 3. “Enbridge has imposed on the people of Michigan an unacceptable risk of a catastrophic oil spill in the Great Lakes that could devastate our economy and way of life,” Whitmer said in a statement. “That's why we're taking action now, and why I will continue to hold accountable anyone who threatens our Great Lakes and fresh water.” Two different Governors, same company.=<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; float: none; display: inline !important;" /><div class="widget" elid="2648898413" style="position: relative; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 30px; width: 815.597px; display: inline-block; vertical-align: top; padding-top: 10px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(222, 222, 222); padding-bottom: 40px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><article elid="2648898413" data-is-frozen="false" class="clearfix image-article sm-mb-1 quality-MD post-2648898413" style="display: block; margin: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4;"><div class="row px10" style="margin-bottom: -40px; margin-left: -10px; margin-right: -10px; overflow: hidden;"><div id="col-right" class="col" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 40px; float: left; box-sizing: border-box; padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 10px; width: 417.798px;"><div class="widgetbody clearfix sm-mt-1"><h1 class="widgetheadline h1" style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; font-weight: 700; cursor: pointer; display: block; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><a class="widgetheadline-text custom-post-headline" href="https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/gretchen-whitmer-enbridge-pipeline/" aria-label="'This is a really, really big deal': Michigan Gov. moves to shut down Line 5 pipeline" style="text-decoration: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;" open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" word-break="word-break" break-word="break-word" outline="outline" px="px" overflow-wrap="overflow-wrap" font-size="font-size" line-height="line-height">This is a really, really big deal': Michigan Gov. moves to shut down Line 5 pipeline</a></h1><div class="social-author clearfix" style="margin-top: 10px; display: inline-block;"><a class="social-authorname" href="https://www.alternet.org/author/jessica-corbett" style="text-decoration: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s; overflow-wrap: break-word; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.4; display: inline; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">Jessica Corbett</a> <a class="social-authorname" href="https://www.alternet.org/author/common-dreams" style="text-decoration: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s; overflow-wrap: break-word; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.4; display: inline; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">Common Dreams</a></div> <div class="social-date" style="margin-top: 8px; display: inline-block; vertical-align: top;"> November 14, 2020</div><div class="body js-expandable clearfix js-listicle-body css-listicle-body-2648898413" style="margin-top: 10px; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; text-overflow: ellipsis; display: -webkit-box; -webkit-line-clamp: 4; overflow: hidden; line-height: 31px;"><div class="body-description">Environmental and Indigenous activists celebrated Friday after Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer took action to shut down the decades-old Enbridge Line 5 oil and natural gas pipelines that run under the Straits of Mackinac, narrow waterways that connect Lake Huron and Lake Michigan—two of the Great Lakes.Citing the threat to the Great Lakes as well as "persistent and incurable violations" by Enbridge, Whitmer and Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Director Dan Eichinger informed the Canadian fossil fuel giant that a 1953 easement allowing it to operate the pipelines is being revoked and terminated.The move, which Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel asked the Ingham County Circuit Court to validate, gives Enbridge until May 2021 to stop operating the twin pipelines, "allowing for an orderly transition that protects Michigan's energy needs over the coming months," <a href="https://twitter.com/ChadLivengood/status/1327298704966094851" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s; overflow-wrap: break-word;">according to</a> a statement from the governor's office.The Great Lakes collectively contain about a fifth of the world's surface fresh water. As Whitmer explained Friday, "Here in Michigan, the Great Lakes define our borders, but they also define who we are as people.""Enbridge has routinely refused to take action to protect our Great Lakes and the millions of Americans who depend on them for clean drinking water and good jobs," the governor said. "They have repeatedly violated the terms of the 1953 easement by ignoring structural problems that put our Great Lakes and our families at risk.""Most importantly, Enbridge has imposed on the people of Michigan an unacceptable risk of a catastrophic oil spill in the Great Lakes that could devastate our economy and way of life," she added. "That's why we're taking action now, and why I will continue to hold accountable anyone who threatens our Great Lakes and fresh water."MLive <a href="https://www.mlive.com/public-interest/2020/11/enbridge-line-5-ordered-shut-down-by-michigan-gov-whitmer.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s; overflow-wrap: break-word;">noted</a> that the state attorney general's new filing "is in addition to <a href="https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Flnks.gd%2Fl%2FeyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDEsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsImJ1bGxldGluX2lkIjoiMjAyMDExMTMuMzA0MjM3NjEiLCJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy5taWNoaWdhbi5nb3YvZG9jdW1lbnRzL2FnL0VuYnJpZGdlX1NDXzIwMTktNi0yN182NTkyMTNfNy5wZGYifQ.IWK-EkKr8zqN6WI3_aiyoxXiyFQMdoKkRYOjJIR5kbo%2Fs%2F604334458%2Fbr%2F88963527418-l&data=04%7C01%7CCRoth%40mlive.com%7C5bb68008dab94a7efc0b08d887f784f1%7C1fe6294574e64203848fb9b82929f9d4%7C0%7C0%7C637408844438804806%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=WD%2FhkJmwTWvf2JEttI2Ka4ZIC6ASCUNphO%2FcHrBAf8A%3D&reserved=0" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Nessel's lawsuit filed in 2019</a> seeking the shutdown of Line 5, which remains pending in the same court." Nessel said Friday that Whitmer and Eichinger "are making another clear statement that Line 5 poses a great risk to our state, and it must be removed from our public waterways."The "bombshell news," as one Michigan reporter called it, elicited applause from environmentalists and Indigenous leaders within and beyond the state."This is a brave and just decision for the Great Lakes," Mike Shriberg, the National Wildlife Federation's regional executive director for the Great Lakes, told MLive. "It's going to benefit the Great Lakes by removing what is probably the single biggest threat to water quality in the region."As the Detroit Free Press <a href="https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2020/11/13/whitmer-revoke-enbridge-line-5-oil-pipeline-easement/6277027002/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s; overflow-wrap: break-word;">detailed</a> Friday:<blockquote style="margin: 1em 0px 1em 25px; border-left: 5px solid rgb(11, 13, 101); padding: 0px 0px 0px 25px;">Enbridge was responsible for one of the largest inland oil spills in U.S. history—a major leak on one of its large oil transmission lines near Marshall in July 2010. That spill fouled more than 38 miles of the Kalamazoo River and took four years and more than $1 billion to clean up. Enbridge in 2016 <a href="https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2016/07/20/enbridge-reaches-177m-settlement-oil-spills/87336380/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s; overflow-wrap: break-word;">agreed to a $177-million settlement </a>with the U.S. Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency, including $62 million in penalties, over the Marshall spill and a 2010 spill on another of its pipelines in Romeoville, Illinois.
A similar spill disaster on Line 5 in the Straits would devastate the Great Lakes shoreline communities and the Michigan economy, critics of the pipeline have long contended. Enbridge officials have countered that Line 5 is safe.
</blockquote>"Line 5 should have never been built in the first place," Shriberg told the Free Press. "Gov. Whitmer is now bravely, and correctly, standing up for the Great Lakes.""This is a legacy-defining action by the governor," he added. "She is standing on the side not only of clean water, but clean energy and the jobs that go along with the transition to a renewable energy economy."Dallas Goldtooth, Keep It In The Ground Campaign organizer for the Indigenous Environmental Network, welcomed the "huge news" in a series of tweets that acknowledged the years of campaigning by tribal nations against the Line 5:"We are thrilled and thankful for Gov. Whitmer's decision to revoke the easement for Enbridge's pipeline to run beneath the Straits," Bryan Newland, president of the Bay Mills Indian Community, said in a statement from Earthjustice. "Enbridge has consistently shown that it only cares about its profits and not about the communities of the Great Lakes. This is a monumental first step in rectifying the harm that the company has already inflicted upon Bay Mills and other tribal nations for decades."The shutdown notice is "an enormous victory for the climate, and for incredible organizers who have fought for many years!" <a href="https://twitter.com/billmckibben/status/1327305004017971207" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s; overflow-wrap: break-word;">declared</a> activist and author Bill McKibben, who co-founded 350.org. After thanking both Whitmer and "the indefatigable organizers," he added that "it's not often enough we Shut Stuff Down!"Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) also <a href="https://www.peters.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/peters-statement-on-state-of-michigan-revoking-line-5-easement" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s; overflow-wrap: break-word;">welcomed</a> the development in a statement Friday. Peters, who <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/11/03/us/elections/results-michigan.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s; overflow-wrap: break-word;">secured</a> a narrow reelection victory last week, is a member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, which oversees the federal agency responsible for pipeline safety."There's no question an oil spill in the Straits of Mackinac would have catastrophic and long-term consequences to the economic and environmental health of Michigan and the Great Lakes," Peters said. "Unfortunately here in Michigan, we already know from the Enbridge pipeline leak in the Kalamazoo River just how devastating and costly spills are to our state.""Given the structural integrity and age concerns around Line 5—particularly in recent years—and Enbridge's failures and inability to be transparent with Michiganders, it's clear that Line 5 poses too serious of a threat and must be removed in the coming months," the congressman continued, vowing to work with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) and the State of Michigan "to swiftly evaluate alternatives to Line 5 while continuing to hold Enbridge accountable."<div class="around-the-web"><div class="around-the-webheadline" style="font-weight: 700; text-transform: uppercase; margin-top: 10px;">RELATED ARTICLES AROUND THE WEB</div><ul class="around-the-weblist" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-block; width: 358.011px; list-style: none;"><li class="around-the-webitem"><a href="https://apnews.com/article/6cc3ab37b6b8a06db1189ab62cedb318" class="around-the-weblink" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s; font-weight: 700; line-height: normal; display: inline-block; margin-top: 10px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Whitmer demands answers from Enbridge on pipeline damage ›</a></li><li class="around-the-webitem"><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/michigan-gov-shutdown-great-lake-pipe-line-1.5801015" class="around-the-weblink" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s; font-weight: 700; line-height: normal; display: inline-block; margin-top: 10px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Michigan governor seeks shutdown of Enbridge pipeline in Great ... ›</a></li><li class="around-the-webitem"><a href="https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2020/06/19/whitmer-questions-enbridge-line-5-oil-gas-pipeline-damage/3226236001/" class="around-the-weblink" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s; font-weight: 700; line-height: normal; display: inline-block; margin-top: 10px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Gov. 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</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Lansing — A Midland neighbor of Attorney General Bill Schuette says an unruly crowd of protesters trespassed on Schuette’s lawn, banged on the doors and littered the property during a Wednesday demonstration that had to be broken up by police.</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><p class="speakable-p-2 p-text" style="margin: 0px 0px 15px 60px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 22px; background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);">Amy Ieuter, who has lived next door to Bill and Cynthia Schuette for nine years, said about 40 people marched around the Schuettes’ lawn early Wednesday afternoon, throwing toilet paper in the trees,leaving fake headstones in the grass and hanging signs from the trees.“The people were adamant that they weren’t going to leave the yard,” Ieuter said Thursday, confirming Cynthia Schuette’s account. “Very clearly they trespassed throughout the entire yard, and they were, yes, banging on the doors.”At least one protester claimed demonstrators didn’t bang on the doors or windows.<a data-track-label="inline|intext|n/a" href="https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2016/07/06/schuette-thugs-attack-midland-home/86778534/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none;">Cynthia Schuette was inside the home </a>when the demonstration began. The Attorney General’s office called the protesters “thugs” who were trying to intimidate Bill Schuette while his wife was alone.The Michigan Coalition Against Tar Sands and the radical environmental group Earth First!organized the demonstration. It appears they came prepared to make a statement against the Line 5 oil pipelines in the Straits of Mackinac — an issue in which <a data-track-label="inline|intext|n/a" href="https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2016/06/16/calls-impartial-study-mackinac-pipelines-mount/86016286/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none;">Schuette is involved</a>.Another Schuette neighbor took a photo of a woman using climbing ropes to hang a large banner from two tall trees in the front lawn that read “No Line 5! Pipelines = Ecogenocide.”“Somehow I doubt folks just happen to drive around with this equipment in their trunk, just in case. Cased the house?” Schuette aide John Sellek asked Thursday on his personal <a data-track-label="inline|intext|n/a" href="https://twitter.com/johnsellek/status/751148312041062401" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);">Twitter</a> page.Midland police officers were called to the Schuettes’ home around 1:30 p.m. and found people all over the lawn and evidence of chocolate sauce tossed on the beige brick home and water balloonsthrown at the house, interim Lt. Michael Sokol said Thursday.“The house at that time was surrounded. People were in the back yard and front yard,” Sokol told The Detroit News.Police officers observed protesters banging on the front door and ground-level windows of Schuette’s house, Sokol said.“Once we arrived, they stopped,” Sokol said.After speaking with Cynthia Schuette, Sokol said police dispersed the crowd to the street, where the demonstration continued for a few more minutes until more officers arrived from the Midland County Sheriff’s Department and state police.“It was their right to stand there; they were on city property,” he said. “I think they accomplished what they wanted to.”Chocolate sauce also was dumped on the driveway in what protesters said was supposed to represent an oil spill. Television crews later filmed workers washing off the driveway.Because of their schedules, Midland officers who responded to the disturbance won’t have their report completed until early next week, Sokol said.The Schuettes have not said whether they want the Midland police to pursue charges for trespassing and littering, he said.“There’s no actual damage done,” Sokol said.State police troopers guarded the Schuette’s house overnight Wednesday, and the city police took over Thursday morning, Sellek said.Bill Schuette was out-of-state Wednesday at a conference at the time, according to his office.“Bill and Cynthia Schuette have focused on taking care of each other first and in time will review what happened and if further action is desired,” Sellek said Thursday in a statement.Ieuter said Cynthia Schuette appeared “a little rattled” by the surprise protest on a dead-end street in a quiet neighborhood.“She handled herself very calm, cool and collected, and she knows that these people are just wasting their time,” Ieuter said. “The Schuettes are very neighborly, polite people, and they did not deserve this in any way shape or form.”The groups that organized the protest said in a statement Wednesday they demonstrated at Schuette’s home to pressure him to shut down Line 5.The protest generated bipartisan condemnation.“The private property & families of elected officials should be off limits. This is over the line of legit protest,” Michigan Democratic Party chairman Brandon Dillon <a data-track-label="inline|intext|n/a" href="https://twitter.com/BrandonDillon75/status/750885583778566148" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);">said on Twitter</a>.An activist who identified himself as Dan Ayler on Wednesday said that none of the protesters had banged on windows or doors at the Schuette home.“I find it disturbing the attorney general is going to lie about what people were doing,” the man told The Detroit News.But on Thursday, The News sought follow-up comment from Ayler but couldn’t re-establish contact or confirm his identity.The phone number the man used to call a reporter is associated with Duncan Tarr, an activist with Michigan Coalition Against Tar Sands who has had <a data-track-label="inline|intext|n/a" href="http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/local/2015/03/27/student-charged-protest-scuffle/70555134/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none;">past run-ins with the law</a>.In January 2015, Tarr was sentenced to one year of probation for locking his neck to an oil pipeline contractor’s truck with a bicycle lock during an August 2014 protest in Oxford of Enbridge’s Line 6B oil pipeline, the <a data-track-label="inline|intext|n/a" href="http://www.dailytribune.com/article/DT/20150127/NEWS/150129647" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none;">Oakland Press reported</a>.<p class="p-text p-text-last" id="article-body-p-last" style="margin: 0px 0px 15px 60px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 22px; background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);">Staff Writer Jonathan Oostring contributed.<div>
</div><cta-atoms-container-inline style="display: block; margin: 0px 0px 15px 60px; background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);" /><div></div><div>ref schu said underwater ppline wd be phased out but enbrifge sats no?</div><div>
</div><div><a href="https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2016/06/16/calls-impartial-study-mackinac-pipelines-mount/86016286/">https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2016/06/16/calls-impartial-study-mackinac-pipelines-mount/86016286/</a></div><div>...A total of 39 “crack-like” anomalies were noted, with none considered sizable enough to merit concern and could simply be scratches in the metal that occurred during pipeline construction, Lamontagne said.</div>Prior to a June 10 external inspection of the pipelines, <a data-track-label="inline|intext|n/a" href="https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2016/06/09/enbridge-inspects-mackinac-pipelines-debate-swirls/85677600/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">an Enbridge executive told reporters</a> Line 5 “can go on operating indefinitely” as long as the company continues its monitoring and inspections.“The lifespan of any engineering infrastructure is really indefinite as long as it’s maintained in a way that keeps it at the level we want it to be,” said Walter Kresic, vice president of pipeline integrity for Enbridge.Evaluation and risksBeth Wallace, a pipeline consultant for the National Wildlife Federation, said relying on Enbridge for the data everyone uses to evaluate pipeline safety is a “huge problem.”“It’s pretty much the fox guarding the hen house scenario,” Wallace said. “You are left to simply trust what they are telling you.”Last July, Schuette and then-state environmental director Dan Wyant completed a task force review of the straits pipelines.State officials are moving forward with new studies assessing the risk of continued operation of Line 5 under the straits as well as alternative ways to deliver the petroleum products, including transporting it by truck, rail or Great Lakes tanker boats.The state also wants to know the feasibility of building a tunnel beneath the lake bed and what would happen to the state’s propane supply if Enbridge were to build a new pipeline through Wisconsin or Canada, said Valerie Brader, executive director of the Michigan Agency for Energy.State officials are trying to get Enbridge to pay for the $3.7 million cost for pipeline industry consultants DNV and Dynamic Risk to conduct the studies. If Enbridge agrees to foot the bill, the money will be placed in an escrow account and the Attorney General’s Office would control the contract, said Brader, co-chair the Michigan Pipeline Safety Advisory Board.The Schuette-Wyant task force recommended the state pursue the additional studies last July. The attorney general echoed the sentiment of Line 5 critics that the state’s lengthy pipeline review is dragging.“From my standpoint, we’ve got to speed it up,” Schuette told The News.The state’s continued study of the pipelines comes as a growing coalition of local government, business leaders and Native American tribes is pushing for immediate closure of Line 5 at the straits....<div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">=</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">draws on intercept</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">line 3</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="https://truthout.org/articles/police-are-using-private-security-firms-to-target-anti-pipeline-organizers/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none;">https://truthout.org/articles/police-are-using-private-security-firms-to-target-anti-pipeline-organizers/</a></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"></div> =chipewa WIline 5 enbridge<a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/25072019/oil-spill-risk-bad-river-tribe-lawsuit-enbridge-pipeline-remove-wisconsin-michigan">https://insideclimatenews.org/news/25072019/oil-spill-risk-bad-river-tribe-lawsuit-enbridge-pipeline-remove-wisconsin-michigan</a><div class="content" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="field-items" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Driven by fears of rapid erosion that threatens to expose a crude oil pipeline to rushing water, a Native American tribe is suing pipeline giant Enbridge to force it to remove an aging pipeline whose easement through the reservation has expired.The Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians <a href="https://turtletalk.files.wordpress.com/2019/07/01-complaint-1.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">filed suit</a> in federal court on July 23 demanding that Enbridge cease operation of its Line 5 pipeline on the Bad River reservation and remove the pipe. Line 5 carries crude oil and other fossil fuels from Superior, Wisconsin, to Sarnia, Ontario, and is part of Canada's largest oil-export pipeline network.The Bad River is rapidly scouring away a section of riverbank where the Line 5 pipeline currently lies buried, the lawsuit says. If exposed, the pipeline could rupture, threatening a pristine watershed and river that flows through the reservation and into Lake Superior."While the risk of a rupture or leak of Line 5 is significant along the entire Reservation corridor, the circumstances just east of the location where the pipeline currently passes beneath the Bad River portend a looming disaster," the lawsuit states. "Here, the Bad River is carving away the banks and soils that conceal and protect the pipeline, such that it will soon be exposed at this location to the full force of the river and to the substantial volume of fallen trees, logs, ice flows, and other material that it conveys."In 1963, a decade after the pipeline was installed, the pipe was 320 feet from the river's edge. That distance had narrowed to approximately 80 feet by 2015. After a severe flood ravaged the area in 2016, the distance is now just 28 feet, according to the lawsuit."It could be as soon as the next major flood event that that pipe gets exposed and taken out," Bad River Tribal Chairman Mike Wiggins Jr. said.<div class="media media-element-container media-image_centered_medium" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-width: 648px; margin: 0.25em auto;"><figure id="file-273030" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject" class="file file-image file-image-png" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-width: 100%; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><img alt=" Map: Wisconsin Tribe Sues over Aging Line 5 Pipeline" title=" Map: Wisconsin Tribe Sues over Aging Line 5 Pipeline" class="media-element file-image-centered-medium" typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://insideclimatenews.org/sites/default/files/styles/icn_centered_medium/public/image_large/Line5-Bad-River-Wisconsin-529px.png?itok=FZ4XP-hW" style="box-sizing: inherit; border: 0px; height: auto; max-width: 100%; display: block; float: none; margin: 0px auto;" width="529" height="611" /></figure></div>A spill in the region would be devastating, said Mike Shriberg, National Wildlife Federation's executive director for the Great Lakes region. The area is known for its wild rice harvest, which the tribe relies on, and for its scenic, well-protected ecosystems, said Shriberg, whose organization is helping to represent the tribe in court.Line 5 also faces a challenge in Michigan. Last month, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel <a href="https://www.michigan.gov/documents/ag/Enbridge_SC_2019-6-27_659213_7.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">sued Enbridge</a> to decommission Line 5 where it crosses the Straits of Mackinac along the floor of the Great Lakes.<h3 style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.333;">'This Perpetual Dance with Danger'</h3>In 2013, one of two easements for the 12-mile pipeline corridor through the Bad River Band's reservation expired. The tribal council voted not to renew the expired easement in 2017 and has since been in mediation with Enbridge, trying to get the company to shut down the line and remove it."Enough is enough," Wiggins said. "Our waterways are the lifeblood of the tribe. They represent our ancestors and our past and they represent all of our hopes and dreams for the future. We are done playing games in dealing with this perpetual dance with danger."Enbridge spokesperson Michael Barnes said the company just received the legal filing from the tribe and will review its contents."Enbridge has been in good faith negotiations with the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Tribe regarding these easements since 2013," Barnes said in a written statement. "The vast majority of Enbridge's right of way through the Bad River Reservation is covered by either perpetual easements on private land or a 50-year agreement between Enbridge and the Band, which does not expire until 2043."<h3 style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.333;">Climate Change Raises the Risks</h3>The region is at risk for more extreme weather and flooding as the planet warms.The 2018 <a href="https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">National Climate Assessment</a> noted that extreme precipitation events in the Midwest had increased in both frequency and intensity since 1901 and are projected to increase through this century.That adds to the risks for pipelines that cross near rivers or under them.In the past decade, floodwaters exposed two pipelines under the Yellowstone River in Montana and both ruptured, leaking <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/16052019/keystone-xl-pipeline-spill-risk-river-flooding-sandy-soil-nebraska-route" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">a total of about 93,000 gallons of oil</a>. Citing seven similar ruptures across the country in the past three years, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, the federal regulator responsible for the safe operation of the country's energy pipelines, issued an <a href="https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/regulations-fr/notices/2019-08984" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">advisory</a> to pipeline owners earlier this year urging them to take enact various safeguards.<h3 style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.333;">Michigan's Fight Over Risk to Great Lakes</h3>In Michigan, Nessel filed a lawsuit over Line 5 on June 27. <a href="https://www.michiganradio.org/post/nessel-files-lawsuit-decommission-line-5" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">She said</a> the pipeline's crossing along the bottom of the Straits of Mackinac poses an "extraordinary, unreasonable threat" and called for the pipeline to be shut down as soon as possible and decommissioned. The section of pipe running along the floor of the Straits has lost chunks of its outer coating in recent years and appears to have been dented by a ship's anchor last year, raising <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/06062019/tar-sands-oil-pipeline-court-ruling-spill-risk-minnesota-michigan-enbridge-canada-climate-change" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">fears of its vulnerability</a> to future leaks.<div class="media media-element-container media-image_centered_medium" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-width: 648px; margin: 0.25em auto;"><figure id="file-270665" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject" class="file file-image file-image-png" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-width: 100%; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/sites/default/files/styles/colorbox_full/public/Enbridge-Lakehead-System-529px.png?itok=QDJfl8gC" class="colorbox init-colorbox-processed cboxElement" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;"><img alt="Map: Enbridge's Lakehead Oil Pipeline System" title="Map: Enbridge's Lakehead Oil Pipeline System" class="media-element file-image-centered-medium" typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://insideclimatenews.org/sites/default/files/styles/icn_centered_medium/public/Enbridge-Lakehead-System-529px.png?itok=DF9rEzsv" style="box-sizing: inherit; border: 0px; height: auto; max-width: 100%; display: block; float: none; margin: 0px auto;" width="529" height="419" /></a></figure></div>Former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican, supported a replacement plan in his final weeks in office, and Enbridge is pursuing construction of a tunnel beneath the Straits—while still operting the existing Line 5. The company has already begun taking bore-hole samples beneath the lake floor and says it could complete such a tunnel by 2024."Enbridge remains committed to moving forward with the tunnel project which would invest $500 million into the State to ensure security of energy supply and reduce risk to the Straits to virtually zero," Barnes said.</div></div></div></div><div class="tagged-with" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-transform: uppercase; margin-bottom: 1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><label style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; line-height: 1.2;">PUBLISHED UNDER:</label><div class="field field-name-field-topics field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="field-items" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="field-item even" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; padding-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/topics/oil-spillspipelines" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">OIL SPILLS/PIPELINES</a></div></div></div></div>astrturf<a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2019/06/06/enbridge-minnesotans-line-3-front-group-oil-pipeline">https://www.desmogblog.com/2019/06/06/enbridge-minnesotans-line-3-front-group-oil-pipeline</a>Minnesotans for Line 3, a group established last year to advocate for an Enbridge oil pipeline project, presents itself as a grassroots organization consisting of “<a href="https://www.minnesotansforline3.com/about-us/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">thousands of members.”</a>But a DeSmog investigation has found that behind the scenes, the Calgary-based energy giant is pulling the strings. Enbridge has provided the group with funding, public relations, and a variety of advocacy tactics.The investigation has also found that a public relations firm behind the operation recently tried to erase its ties to Enbridge.<h3 style="line-height: 1.28205em; margin-top: 1.28205em; margin-bottom: 1.28205em;">Facebook Splurge and Secret Tactics</h3>Minnesotans for Line 3 first appeared in the battle over Enbridge’s <a href="https://mn.gov/puc/line3/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Line 3 Replacement Project</a> early last year.Opponents, who this week employed <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/06/03/activists-stage-blockade-block-work-line-3-court-tosses-out-proposed-pipelines" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">direct action tactics</a> to block initial work on the project and <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2019/06/groups-deliver-thousands-minnesotan-petition-signatures-against-enbridge-line" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">delivered</a> a petition to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, include several Native communities — among them the White Earth and Mille Lacs Bands of Ojibwe and the Red Lake Band of Chippewa. Of their main concerns, these groups cite violation of Indigenous rights, risks associated with oil spills, and climate change impacts.Through a series of TV ads and op-eds, along with a social media campaign and a petition delivered to state authorities, Minnesotans for Line 3 called for approving Enbridge’s multi-billion dollar plan to replace and reroute its aging pipeline that transports Canadian tar sands oil through North Dakota and Minnesota to Superior, Wisconsin.The group spent <a href="https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/business/energy-and-mining/4612095-study-minn-pipeline-group-top-spender-facebook-ads" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">considerable funds</a> on Facebook advertising, making it the tenth largest digital ad purchaser among interest groups between November 2018 and April 2019. And it allegedly engaged in more stealthy tactics as well: Dozens of young people wearing Minnesotans for Line 3 shirts occupied spots in a line at a state Public Utilities Commission (PUC) hearing on the project at the expense of the project’s opponents – <a href="https://www.mprnews.org/story/2018/06/22/line-3-opponents-accuse-supporters-of-cheating-ticket-system-for-puc-hearing" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">only to disappear shortly</a> after receiving the tickets.    The PUC’s eventual approval of the project suffered a partial reversal this week, after the Minnesota Court of Appeals <a href="https://www.mprnews.org/story/2019/06/03/line3-oil-pipeline-minnesota-court-environement-spill-impact" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">ruled</a>that the pipeline’s environmental impact statement did not adequately address the potential impact of an oil spill in the Lake Superior watershed. That review will likely be sent back to the PUC to determine how to proceed.<h3 style="line-height: 1.28205em; margin-top: 1.28205em; margin-bottom: 1.28205em;">Enbridge Behind TV Ads</h3>Formally, Minnesotans for Line 3 says it was <a href="https://www.minnesotansforline3.com/about-us/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">established</a> by <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/bob-schoneberger-28623010/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Bob Schoneberger</a>, the former founder and CEO of United Piping, an Enbridge construction contractor. Schoneberger, who died unexpectedly from a heart attack last November, worked previously for Lakehead Pipeline, Enbridge’s early incarnation.Minnesotans for Line 3’s website makes no mention of any affiliation with Enbridge, and other than United Piping, <a href="https://www.minnesotansforline3.com/about-us/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">lists</a> two other construction companies — JR Jensen Construction and Gordon Construction — on its advisory cou...<div>=</div><div><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/06062019/tar-sands-oil-pipeline-court-ruling-spill-risk-minnesota-michigan-enbridge-canada-climate-change">https://insideclimatenews.org/news/06062019/tar-sands-oil-pipeline-court-ruling-spill-risk-minnesota-michigan-enbridge-canada-climate-change</a></div><div>
</div><div><header class="wrap " style="box-sizing: inherit; padding: 1em 3.125em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><h1 class="page-title" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.333;">2 More Tar Sands Oil Pipelines Run Into Trouble in the Midwest</h1></header><div class="wrap main-content section equal-height-section-processed" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; padding: 0px 3.125em 1em; margin: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="page-content col span_7_of_12" style="box-sizing: inherit; float: left; margin-left: 0px; width: 532.766px;"><div class="panel-pane pane-node-content" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="pane-content" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><article id="node-56796" class="node node-article node-promoted node-content-56796 full clearfix" about="/news/06062019/tar-sands-oil-pipeline-court-ruling-spill-risk-minnesota-michigan-enbridge-canada-climate-change" typeof="sioc:Item foaf:Document" role="article" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><header class="page-header article-header" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em;"><h2 class="page-subtitle" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.333;">A court in Minnesota and officials in Michigan are raising concerns about</h2><h2 class="page-subtitle" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.333;"> the Enbridge pipelines’ safety and risk of oil spills in or near the Great Lakes.</h2></header></article></div></div></div></div></div><h3 style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.333; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
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</h3><h3 style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.333; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">=</h3><div><a href="https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-environment-watch/michigan-gov-gretchen-whitmer-halts-action-line-5-tunnel">https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-environment-watch/michigan-gov-gretchen-whitmer-halts-action-line-5-tunnel</a></div><div><ul open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; list-style: none;"><li class="tc-link" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 1.5em 0px; padding-left: 1em; border-left: 2px solid rgb(240, 117, 38); border-top-color: rgb(240, 117, 38); border-right-color: rgb(240, 117, 38); border-bottom-color: rgb(240, 117, 38);"><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/todaysnews/29032019/michigan-gov-gretchen-whitmer-halts-action-line-5-tunnel" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">Michigan Gov. Whitmer Halts Action on Pipeline Tunnel Under Great Lakes</a> -Bridge Magazine</li><li class="tc-link" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 1.5em 0px; padding-left: 1em; border-left: 2px solid rgb(240, 117, 38); border-top-color: rgb(240, 117, 38); border-right-color: rgb(240, 117, 38); border-bottom-color: rgb(240, 117, 38);">LANSING – Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Thursday ordered state agencies to halt action on a proposed tunnel to encase the controversial Line 5 pipeline in a tunnel.Whitmer’s<a href="https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/MIEOG/2019/03/28/file_attachments/1182712/ED%202019-13%20Public%20Act%20359%20of%202018%20.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(17, 107, 198);"> executive directive</a> came minutes after a fellow Democrat, Attorney General Dana Nessel, issued a legal opinion claiming that a law creating a state authority to oversee construction of the tunnel is unconstitutional.“I agree with the conclusion reached by Attorney General Nessel,” Whitmer said in a statement. “The Great Lakes are our most precious resource in Michigan, and because of their significance, I’ve instructed state departments and agencies to halt any actions in furtherance of this law.”Nessel’s opinion was her first since taking office Jan. 1, and it came in response to a request from Whitmer to review the law. Last year, both campaigned on shutting down the 66-year-old oil pipeline, and they opposed compromises including a tunnel.The move puts Whitmer and Nessel on a collision course with Republicans that could likely end up in court. "An AG opinion is exactly that, an opinion.  It’s not binding.  It's not final.  And it's certainly not without cause to challenge," said Senate Majority Leaker Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake."The Senate will pursue its options in order to advance the very important work and purpose of the energy tunnel. This is the fastest, safest, and most economical long-term solution for Michigan. It’s very important to our economy."House Speaker Lee Chatfield, R-Levering, called the tunnel plan "the right thing to do for our state, our waterways, and for our future." "It is well past time to put aside political talking points and campaign rhetoric and just do the right thing. This administration needs to protect the people of our state, secure our critical Mackinac Straits and approve the tunnel project immediately," he said in a statement.Whitmer's move was cheered by environmental groups, who have repeatedly said a leak in the line could create havoc on the Great Lakes.“Governor Whitmer’s leadership today ... should be immediately followed by implementing a process to decommission Line 5,” Anne Woiwode, chair of the Sierra Club Michigan Chapter, said in a statement.“Every day these oil pipelines remain in the Mackinac Straits is a day when Michigan’s future can be drowned in a sea of oil,” she added.For its part, Enbridge said it was "surprised and disappointed" and wants Whitmer to clarify the path forward.“Enbridge worked in good faith with the Michigan government on the tunnel project,”  Chief Legal Officer Bob Rooney said in a statement Thursday night. “We disagree with the attorney general’s opinion and continue to believe in the benefits of the tunnel.”Nessel's opinion kickstarted a new chapter in the short, but complicated history of Enbridge’s plans to encase Line 5 in a $350 million to $500 million tunnel below 100 feet of bedrock.During his final weeks in office in December, Gov. Rick Snyder signed <a href="http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(mhppzpkzy1qqrtmjhnrflt4e))/mileg.aspx?page=GetObject&objectname=2018-SB-1197" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(17, 107, 198);">Public Act 359</a> to create the Mackinac Straits Corridor Authority to oversee construction and operation of the tunnel. The Republican immediately made appointments to the authority’s three-member board, which approved a series of tunnel related agreements with Enbridge.Republicans, Enbridge and other supporters have called a tunnel the best way to protect the Straits while keeping energy flowing to the Upper Peninsula.The legislation’s passage, the board’s creation and its signed agreement with Enbridge came in a matter of days, leading to complaints from Democrats and environmentalists that language in the law and was poorly vetted, if lawmakers had any time to read it.Initially, Snyder’s plan hinged on the Mackinac Bridge Authority, an independent state agency that oversees the iconic bridge, owning the 4-mile, 12-foot in diameter tunnel and leasing space to Enbridge for 99 years.That prompted fierce opposition, including from <a href="https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-environment-watch/mackinac-bridge-authority-no-hurry-consider-line-5-tunnel-deal" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(17, 107, 198);">former bridge authority members</a>who worried it would distract from oversight of Mackinac Bridge.Rather than scrapping the original bill, Republicans — to save time during the fast-moving lame duck session — re-wrote it, keeping the Mackinac Bridge Authority in the bill's title as a body authorized to acquire the new “utility tunnel."The bill was written so that the Mackinac Bridge Authority would immediately transfer all of its initial powers over the tunnel — including acquisition construction and operation —to the newly created corridor authority board.In doing so, Nessel wrote in her opinion, the Legislature violated the “title-object” provision of the 1963 Michigan Constitution, which is meant to give lawmakers clear notice of what they’re voting on. The provision says “no bill shall be altered or amended” after passing either legislative chamber “so as to change its original purpose.”The far-reaching power transfer to the corridor authority board "comes without fair notice and is a surprise" to lawmakers, Nessel wrote, because it is not mentioned in the bill's title. “Michigan law is clear that where the body of an act exceeds the general scope of what is expressed in the title, the offending provisions violate” the Constitution, Nessel wrote.Her opinion came two weeks after Michigan Court of Claims Judge Stephen L. Borrello<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-environment-watch/michigan-gov-gretchen-whitmer-halts-action-line-5-tunnel&source=gmail&ust=1553895744558000&usg=AFQjCNGo1NduIkAuQzpe6L5RhCX2fhbK0g" href="https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-environment-watch/michigan-gov-gretchen-whitmer-halts-action-line-5-tunnel" target="_blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(17, 107, 198);">found another part of the corridor authority law unconstitutional.</a> The law granted six-year terms to the board’s members, even though the constitution bars terms greater than four years.That ruling came in a lawsuit filed by a nonprofit called A Felon's Crusade for Equality, Honesty and Truth. The term-limit issue was the only challenge in that lawsuit, and Borrello wrote that the corridor could continue to operate.In her review, Nessel wrote that courts would likely see the separate “title-object” violation as too large to keep the corridor authority intact.“It cannot be concluded” that lawmakers would have passed the law had they known of the constitutional violations, she wrote.  </li></ul></div><div></div>=pipelines
on <a href="https://www.ran.org/press-releases/media-advisory-indigenous-environmental-and-climate-justice-groups-rally-outside-equator-principles-meeting-demand-stronger-commitments/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">October 16</a>, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Crédit Agricole and 91 other global banks <a href="https://tinyurl.com/y9znwxct" style="text-decoration-line: none;">met in Washington, DC, to revise the Equator Principles</a>, industry-led due diligence standards meant to prevent banks from supporting environmentally and socially harmful projects.On the very same day, in a bitter irony, many of those same banks <a href="https://www.ran.org/endfinanceline3/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">re-upped their support for Enbridge, the Canadian company behind the Line 3 tar sands pipeline, which tramples Indigenous rights</a> and is flatly <a href="https://tinyurl.com/y8np6vyt" style="text-decoration-line: none;">incompatible with the goals of the Paris climate agreement</a>. They did so just days after the publication of a <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/sr15/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">landmark United Nations report</a> showing the desperate urgency of taking concrete steps to tackle the climate crisis. It’s as if the banks wanted to supply their own headline example of exactly why the Equator Principles are broken and in dire need of repair.The current round of soul-searching around the Equator Principles dates back to the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) and the Indigenous-led campaign calling out the banks behind the project. DAPL was a crisis for those banks, and it was a scandal for the Equator Principles Association. How did such an obviously flawed project pass muster?<interaction data-token="5b96855f8198b4e625350260" data-context="true" data-tags="" data-fallback="true" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" />In response to <a href="https://www.equatorbanksact.org/home" style="text-decoration-line: none;">activist pressure</a>, in 2017, the Equator Principles Association agreed to a <a href="https://tinyurl.com/y8a6qpuz" style="text-decoration-line: none;">revision process</a>, including examining how the principles deal with the <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/publications/2016/10/free-prior-and-informed-consent-an-indigenous-peoples-right-and-a-good-practice-for-local-communities-fao/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">internationally accepted standard</a> that projects cannot be built unless directly impacted Indigenous communities give their free, prior and informed consent. The Equator Principles currently ignore these principles in rich countries like the US — and ignore climate impacts everywhere.It’s astonishing that the banks were discussing those revisions on exactly the same day that many of them reaffirmed their support for Enbridge, when the Line 3 pipeline — the company’s largest new investment — is in danger of becoming DAPL 2.0. In a clear echo of DAPL, Enbridge has failed to secure the free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous communities impacted by Line 3: <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/58a3c10abebafb5c4b3293ac/t/5b6bbf598985835b3fce16a2/1533787994006/LAWSUIT+Tribes+vs.+PUC+08082018.pdf" style="text-decoration-line: none;">three Ojibwe tribes in the Minnesota portion of the pipeline’s proposed path remain staunchly opposed</a>. There’s been a steady and growing drumbeat of Indigenous-led <a href="https://www.parkrapidsenterprise.com/news/4493238-opposition-streets-activists-gather-downtown-bemidji-protest-line-3" style="text-decoration-line: none;">legal and direct action, up to and including peaceful civil disobedience</a>.Of course, all this comes on the heels of the historic report recently released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that describes food shortages, growing wildfires and massive coral reef destruction by 2040 unless we take immediate action to curb greenhouse gas emissions.We urgently need to stop expanding and start phasing out fossil fuels to have any chance of meeting the goals of the Paris climate agreement. Flying in the face of these facts, the Line 3 pipeline would increase extraction and burning of tar sands, one of the dirtiest forms of oil. Enbridge is a company going in exactly the wrong direction: Last year, it even <a href="https://calgaryherald.com/business/energy/enbridge-defends-decision-to-sell-onshore-renewables-as-climate-action-increases" style="text-decoration-line: none;">sold off a huge wind farm</a> <a href="https://sightline-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Enbridge-Line-3-Financing-Sightline-09-2018.pdf" style="text-decoration-line: none;">to free up capital</a> to build Line 3.<a href="https://www.ran.org/the-understory/whos-banking-enbridge/" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Crédit Agricole are the lead banks behind two key Enbridge credit facilities</a>, loans that act like giant credit cards for Enbridge to use as it pleases. <a href="https://sightline-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Enbridge-Line-3-Financing-Sightline-09-2018.pdf" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-line: none;">They are crucial for Enbridge’s ability to build Line 3</a>. When these loans are set to mature, banks have a choice: They can let them expire, or they can renew their support. One of Enbridge’s credit facilities was <a href="https://www.ran.org/endfinanceline3/" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-line: none;">renewed recently, with another scheduled for renewal in December</a>. At the beginning of October, Minnesota-based Native rights group Honor the Earth and a coalition of Indigenous and environmental organizations <a href="https://www.ran.org/endfinanceline3/" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-line: none;">sent a letter</a> to those three banks laying out the case against Line 3 and calling on them not to renew their support.Because Enbridge is <a href="https://www.ran.org/the-understory/whos-banking-enbridge/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">funding Line 3 from its general corporate coffers</a>, the pipeline illustrates another fundamental shortcoming of the Equator Principles: Since <a href="https://tinyurl.com/y7ctbmhp" style="text-decoration-line: none;">the standards only cover direct finance for projects</a>, Line 3 is outside of their scope, despite the project’s clear impacts on Indigenous rights and the climate. This is a litmus test for the current revision of the Equator Principles, which should cover projects like Line 3 if they’re going to be worth anything. As a start for companies sponsoring harmful projects, the Equator Principles evaluation should be triggered when these companies are up for credit renewals as well.But JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Crédit Agricole can’t hide behind the revision of the Equator Principles. They should immediately end their support for Line 3 by dropping their financing for Enbridge, so long as the company is pushing forward this destructive project. The December credit renewal will serve as another test. This time they should make sure they pass it.This article was produced by <a href="https://independentmediainstitute.org/earth-food-life/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Earth | Food | Life</a>, a project of the Independent Media Institute, and originally published by <a href="https://truthout.org/articles/big-banks-just-flunked-their-own-test-on-climate-indigenous-rights/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Truthou</a>t==