Posted Draft EIS Comments

As a citizen of Michigan and the Great Lakes Basin I am opposed to the continuation of Line 5, including the Line 5 Tunnel Project for the following reasons:
1. Line 5 was built in 1953 with an expected safe life of 50 years. It is 22 years past the date and the aging structure is not safe.
2. Enbridge Line 5 has had 33 documented leaks since 1968 and has spilled over 1.1 million gallons of oil and gas onto Michigan lands and water. Enbridge was responsible for the Line 6B spill in 2010 into the Kalamazoo River, which was the worst inland oil spill in US history. Embridge has continuously violated Michigan agreements regarding Safety. The governor and attorney general in Michigan has called for the decommissioning of Line 5 and has revoked the 1957 easement. Enbridge continues to operate in violation of the agreements and easements.
3. Enbridge is violating Indigenous Treaties in Michigan and continues to operate in violation of their rights.
4. Due to the strong and changing currents in the Great Lakes, the Straits of Mackinaw is the worst possible place for an an oil spill, which could affect over 700 miles of Great Lakes Shoreline and would take decades to remediate.
5. The cost of the project, the noise, asthetic and environmental impacts and impacts on wildlife and tourism is not worth the small amount Michiganders are receiving in oil and gas from the pipeline. The vast majority of the oil goes to Canada and other places. There are more climate friendly alternatives that can make up the difference.
6. The proposed tunnel is not fail safe and an explosion or leak in the tunnel at the Straits would be catastrophic, affecting not only millions of Michiganders who rely on the Great Lakes for drinking water, recreation, tourism, our culture andnour way of life, but everyone in the Great Lakes Basin and beyond. The Great Lakes represent roughly 20 percent of the fresh water in the world and about 84% of fresh water in the United States. It simply is not worth the risk. The only safe option is to decommission Line 5 and remove the lines altogether.

To whom it may concern at USACE,

Please provide more time to read your 1000+ page EIS on the proposed Enbridge Line 5 tunnel through the Straits of Mackinac. It is imperative that you give an extension to allow more time for public comment. I have been actively engaged in studying, learning and understanding the inner workings of the Line 5 Tunnel and I’m continuously disturbed at how detrimental the impact would be on our beautiful freshwaters if construction of this tunnel continues. I have witnessed thousands of people coming together to raise awareness around how harmful Line 5 is/will be to our fresh waters. I could spend my time trying to prove this point with hard facts and research, but if you actually took a moment to listen to those who have been actively speaking up about this issue far longer than I have, you would see that there is already ample evidence from a myriad of communities who have done EXTENSIVE research on the disturbing history of the Line 5 Tunnel. These people have unified in protecting the Great Lakes and surrounding
watersheds.

Instead, I’d like to speak from my heart.

I am a permanent resident of Michigan rooted in Detroit, but spent many of my summers, growing up next to Lake Michigan, and up in Lake Superior. The Great Lakes have provided so much joy, healing and peace for myself, and for the people that I love for decades. We cherish these waters. I’ve had dreams of bringing my future family to these lakes and passing down to the next generation, a legacy of caring for and praising Michigan’s most valuable resource. The Great Lakes inspire so many of us. They are often a place to hike, kayak, relax, regulate, connect with friends and family, fish and sail on. I visit these lakes at least a dozen times a year to cleanse my spirit and to ground me in an already chaotic world.

It would be an absolute devastation if these waters were contaminated with oil. And without extensive and careful review of this EIS, the risks of this devastation will skyrocket.

Please- we the public need more time to review. We are the ones who will be affected the most by a potential devastation. Please extend the time period for public comment.

And hey, if somebody is actually reading this, I want you to know that I wrote a portion of this while I was sitting in front of Lake Michigan at Esch Beach near Sleeping Bear Dunes. If you’ve actually spent time with the Great Lakes like I have, I think you would also do your best to protect the sacred nature and ecosystem of our beloved fresh coast. How could anyone want to risk destroying such beauty? It doesn’t make any sense to me. And I hope it doesn’t make any sense to you either. And perhaps maybe you’ll have a change of heart, and you’ll listen to the thousands of people who are saying the same thing I am.

Thanks for reading.

Please see attached for comments

Comment is incomplete due to time restraints so please please provide the public with an extension.

See attached PDF

I strongly oppose the Line 5 Tunnel. Constructing new fossil fuel infrastructure is the exact opposite of what needs to be happening. The science is sound. We need to aggressively shift to non carbon emitting energy sources. This tunnel would lock us in to far too many more years of continued burning of hydrocarbons. Additionally these points need to be adequately addressed:

-An oil spill in the Great Lakes would be catastrophic for drinking water, wildlife, and Michigan’s economy. More than 1.3 million jobs, equating to $82 billion in wages, are directly tied to the Great Lakes.
-Approving this tunnel locks us into decades of fossil fuel dependency, exacerbating the climate and public health crises; it must be thoroughly assessed for its greenhouse gas emissions and health impacts before proceeding.
-Tribal nations and Indigenous communities have not been meaningfully consulted. Their rights, treaties, and voices must be honored.

This period of comment simply does not give enough time to the general public to be well informed of the issue or the ability to fuy process the draft EIS in part or as a whole. I really want to read and give feedback on this report but have not had adequate time to do a thourough review and research into the EIS. I think the only way this public comment period can be trusted by the public is if an extension of the public comment period is granted.

I strongly oppose the Line 5 Tunnel Project in Michigan for the following reasons. The Line 5 Tunnel Project poses a tremendous risk to the Great Lakes and the security of clean freshwater to the Michigan. As a freshwater biologist, building an oil tunnel under the straits of Mackinaw appears to be a reckless and rushed decision. The Line 5 Tunnel Project has not undergone a comprehensive risk assessment and a project with this much risk warrants that assessment to be completed. Building a tunnel under the lakebed is a dangerous project that will be technically challenging and complicated. This will pose a great risk for the workers that are subjected to be building the pipeline. The project is currently being fast tracked due to false political motives but this should not override public safety and environmental protections that were put in place to safeguard citizens. This project is being pushed due to an alleged "energy emergency" but in reality this project will lock us into decades more of fossil fuel dependency. Climate change is increasing public health crises across the state as well as the country and it is foolish to invest in old energy that is harming us so much. The Great Lakes are the pride and joy of Michiganders, so not only would an oil spill in the Great Lakes be catastrophic for our recreation industry but it also would be catastrophic for the drinking water for millions of people. The Great Lakes are critical for Michigan's economy equating to more than 1.3 million jobs and $82 billion in wages. Ecologically, the Great Lakes are an incredibly unique ecosystem. Each lake is directly connected to one another so a spill in one lake will have ramifications on the other 4. With all the other pressures on the Great Lakes such as invasive species, warming waters, and increased nutrient load leading to harmful algal blooms, the Great Lakes do not need another stressor and a potentially catastrophic one. In addition, tribal nations and indigenous communities have not been meaningfully consulted in this decision. They deserve that their rights, treaties and voices be honored and respected.

To conclude, it would be a grave mistake for Michigan to allow the Line 5 Tunnel Project to be allowed to continue. Michigan does not need this project and should be investing in renewable energy that will support our state for centuries instead of decades. The chances of an oil spill in our greatest natural resource should not be ignored or taken lightly. The ramifications of an oil spill will harm millions of people that depend on the Great Lakes for their livelihood and simple living requirements (clean drinking water). Lately, we need to be doing everything we can to protect Michigan's most precious natural resource. We are after all the Great Lakes State.

Please allow for more time for comments to be made and analyses to be done. I’m very concerned about the impacts of this project and dont believe that it is in the best interest for Michigan’s future - either economically or environmentally.

Hello! I am commenting to ask that you please allow more time for people to review the Environmental Impact Statement for Line 5. I am a Minnesotan educator, and I am concerned about the potential irreparable damages to our ecosystems if the Line 5 tunnel construction proceeds, similar to the damages caused by Line 3. I believe more time is needed to do a thorough review of the EIS and allow time for analyses and refutation.

I do not support the building of a tunnel under the Mackinac Straits by Enbridge. I do not trust them to look after the health of our environment. Their record of pipelines on the Bad River Reservation in Wisconsin is very concerning, if not to say shocking. That entire region is at risk because of Enbridge's pipelines and they are not dealing with the situation in any kind of safe or honest or reassuring way. They need to be accountable for the lands and waters that their pipelines run through and my concern is that they only seem to care about the money that can be made until something goes wrong that can't be fixed and is catastrophic for the Great Lakes.