Posted Draft EIS Comments

I believe that the Army Core of Engineers will be truthful as it has been in the past to present all the facts as to why this tunnel project permit should be denied. The responsibility lays heavily upon you and if all the risks are not revealed all future generations will lose trust in one of the greatest organizations our country has. Please extend this time for public comment so the true risks of this tunnel project can be analyzed. Rushing this decision could be a regretful mistake!
Please Extend the EIS time to be reviewed!!

The expedition of this comment period is unacceptable. The length of this report requires significant time to allow for meaningful public engagement. The drilling and building of this tunnel has monumental impacts given its position under the straits of mackinack and requires deep and intentional public engagement. The shortened duration of this comment period completely undermines that. More time for the public to review an comment on the draft
EIS is necessary.

As a Michigan citizen, I am deeply concerned about this project moving forward without a full risk assessment. This project would create unnecessary risk to one of the largest drinking water sources for our country; an oil spill in this water system would be disastrous for not only Michigan, but for the whole of our country. With numerous other energy sources that could be tapped into, the line 5 project is an unnecessary risk for our state and country to take on.

Dear fellow reader living here on Earth, impacted by the planets impeccable natural beauty and resources. I urge you to extend the period for accepting public comments. We must fight injustice in any way possible, and an extension can bring to light the millions of impacted individuals. Please keep these open for a proper response period, so all can be heard before we lose the natural beauty around us.

I request more time for the public to view and understand the EIS draft.
I'm opposed to any new oil pipelines that could damage our lakes.

The Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition remains opposed to plans to keep line 5 operational under the great lakes, including any plan to construct a tunnel. A line 5 tunnel creates new and unacceptable environmental risks to the entire great lakes region. The existence of line 5 already risks a catastrophic oil spill causing irreparable damage to the world's largest and most important reservoir of fresh water; the construction of a tunnel creates further risk of an underwater explosion, as well as the heightened risk of damage during the construction process.

It is inconceivable that Michigan should allow the safety and cleanliness of the great lakes to be put at risk just to protect the profits of a foreign oil company. Line 5 does not serve the interests of Michiganders, and its continued illegal operation under our waterways is already an affront to the rule of law and to all basic principles of environmental justice. The solution should not be a risky new tunnel around an already-illegal pipeline, it should be the immediate shutdown of oil flow and real investment in the renewable alternatives we desperately need.

Enbridge is responsible for the largest and second largest inland oil spill in US history according to my research. Why does this not calculate into the decision?

Enbridge is currently operating illegally. Their easement in the straits has been revoked. Why does it not calculate into the decision that the permit requesting company is operating illegally in the state of Michigan?

Senior Geologist Mike Wilczynski writes “When mixed with water, bentonite will stick to everything it touches – killing off fisheries and destroying our drinking water – not to mention forming an impermeable barrier suspended on top of Lake Michigan for years to come.” Is bentonite really being used for this project? If so, what is being done to mitigate the destruction of drinking water and fisheries?

5 million gallons a day of waste water are planned for during construction. Enbridge is trying to get a 99 year lease - since they are operating long term in this manner — what effects do 5 million gallons/day of waste water pollution have on a 99 year basis?

Noise and extreme vibration disturbances to wildlife habitat are expected for this 2-6 year period of drilling. Has the ecological damage of this sonic pollution been properly assessed given the most recent research on the importance of sonic communication to marine wildlife?

What limits there will be to commercial and non-commercial fishing and shipping, what will be allowed and permitted during construction? Have these economic impacts been assessed?

The TBM boring machine is anticipated to excavate through bedrock with high hydrostatic pressure (up to 17 bars) and with the potential for variable rock conditions. There are known methane pockets which can cause devastating explosions and are responsible for the 17 work lives lost in the Tunnel attempted beneath Lake Huron. What is being done to mitigate the risk of encountering those known methane pockets?

In 2020, an archaeological site was found in the path of the proposed oil tunnel project. If completed, the tunnel could disturb or destroy existing cultural artifacts in violation of NAGPRA and the American Indian Religious Freedom Act. Has an archeological assessment of all parts of the permit area been conducted? Have disposal areas for excavated earth been identified and formal assessments made for those areas? Enbridge must consider eligible sites on the National Register of Historic Places detailed in section 106. Have archeological assessments been conducted on all parts of the permit area?

With so many tribes formally communicating their disapproval of engagement with this USACE permitting process, how is USACE going to get their approval to build it?

The planned cost of the project has shifted wildly - how can we be certain Enbridge has the funds to actually complete it? Have the risks of an abandoned incomplete project been assessed?

Why are there no alternatives which decommission the pipeline entirely and involve no tunnel?

Enbridge itself indicates that the tunnel will be a stranded asset by 2040, how can we possible entertain a 99 year permit?

There are large stretches, on the order of a mile, in the middle of straits which have not been test bored to the depth planned. How can this permit possibly be granted without the deepest part of the straits being tested?

Please extend the comment and review period. I need more time to read and assess.

Thank you.

We should be pursuing energy policies that invest in renewable sources and reduce carbon emissions. I am opposed to the line 5 tunnel project.

Dear Army Corps of Engineers,
Please take more time in your research and development of this potentially life changing, catastrophic, environmental crisis that could be avoided. Both human and animal lives are in vour
hands. Please extend the time to gather more information and find alternatives to the dreadful probabilities of another immense oil spill, but not in a river that flows one way but in the straits of Mackinac which flows both directly into Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. So much is at risk!
They don't care about our water. It is evident in what they allowed to happen in the Kalamazoo river. Please do your research.
Please extend the time to review the ElS.

I’m praying and trusting you will do the right thing for the community, people of Michigan, and the entire world.

With hope and faith,
Nicolette

I am commenting on the Line 5 EIS being prepared the U.S. Army, Corp of Engineers, Detroit District.

I am a lifelong resident of Michigan, am very familiar with the area addressed in the EIS, and have a science background which includes classes in Ecology, and Organic Chemistry

As a global society, we have a long history with spills from pipelines carrying hydrocarbons such as oil and natural gas. What evidence do we have that the Line 5 project will be any different?

The Nord Stream explosion may provide some insight.

You can link to the Nord Steam Study here:

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=nature+magazine+Nord+Stream+pipelines+explosion&t=osx&ia=web


You can access a PDF file here:

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=nature+magazine+Nord+Stream+pipelines+explosion&t=osx&ia=web



Thanks for the opportunity to comment.

Kim Buckley