Posted Draft EIS Comments

I am writing to express my dissent and disapproval for Line 5 to continue and for additional work to be added to this line. It should be shut down. There has not been a comprehensive ecological risk assessment which would be crucial for the health of lakes themself and crucial for the humans who live around these lakes now and in the future. Many experts have actually said this plan is dangerous. It would also be dangerous to the workers who would be doing construction work here. There is not an “energy emergency” it is the climate crisis and we must as a society stop using oil at such a fast rate. Now is not the time to lock into decades more use and consumption of what is killing the globe. There may be an economic need here but that should not supersede safety and health for those in this region. An oil spill in the Great Lakes would be devastating and catastrophic for all of Michigan and all surrounding states, not to mention the impact it would have on the lakes wildlife and ecology. Further all of the water in this region is connected, including our ground water supplies. At a time when the planet is warming and heat is killing more people than ever before, we should be protecting our fresh water. Humans are not the only living thing on this Earth! Tribal nations and communities have also not been meaningfully consulted. We must do better as a country and honor Indigenous peoples’ rights and treaties.

Please reject Line 5 approval until there has been a full environmental study.

Any oil leak in the Straits could affect all of the Great Lakes but it will affect everything down stream in the St. Lawrence Seaway. Do you want to be responsible for that?

I’m against the tunnel project.

My home is on Bois Blanc Island directly East of the project.

The Army Corps of engineers specifically states that: Surface water: “Direct, detrimental impacts” with the potential release of 20,000 gallons of drilling fluid and unintended release of contaminants. The Army Corps says this fluid is mainly water and a type of clay called bentonite, along with “additives such as lubricants or greases.”

These contaminants will wash on my shoreline if construction occurs. This will directly affect our (my family) quality of life, recreation on the Straits and also affect my property value.

Again, for these reasons I request that the tunnel construction not happen. The current pipeline be shut down and capped and an alternative land line be constructed strategically elsewhere to insure energy efficiency.

Army Corps of Engineers
We do not need to cause any more damage to the Straits of Mackinaw than is already occurring naturally. In my opinion drilling into the lake bed is a very risky endeavor. It would disrupt the wildlife that depends on clean water and pollute the surrounding waters. Michigan is home to one of the largest amounts of fresh water in the world. Water is life! You can not eat money or drink oil. Please don’t let multi million dollar corporations ruin one of the most important things in the world. We need to focus on alternatives to fossil fuels. I know of a fishery that will have to go out of business if there are problems with the tunnel building. People of Michigan love their lakes for food and recreation. Please don’t spoil this wonderful gift from A Higher Power.

With over 1 million gallons of oil already spilled along the length of this pipeline, it’s unconscionable to propose a project expanding its capacity and longevity. Using a declaration of an energy emergency to fast-track construction when this line is already active and flowing is absurd. The Army Corps claims this project will solve “an unacceptable hazard to life, a significant loss of property, or an immediate, unforeseen, and significant economic hardship” but has provided no additional details as to how this proposed project supports this bold claim. The fact that you’ve cut the public comment period time for this project in half underscores the fact that you don’t have a legitimate basis to advance this project, trying to minimize the amount of public input and criticism you will receive.

When this pipeline leaks, as all pipelines do, it poses a catastrophic risk to the freshwater, habitat, and industries our entire region relies upon, with some estimates of damages reaching billions of dollars. Your enviornmental impact assessment is extremely limited, focused only on short-term impacts of construction like increased noise, temporary construction workers in the area, and some removal of vegetation, without considering the larger impacts of this project’s environmental impact.

Even if it did not inevitably fail and cause a catastrophic oil spill, investing further money in climate-damaging fossil fuel infrastructure instead of cleaner alternatives is a terrible choice. We should be investing in renewable energy and shutting off sources like fossil fuels and coal, not expanding or reinforcing their use. Enbridge’s pipelines have already spilled millions of gallons into our delicate freshwater ecosystem; Line 6B fully imploding on the Kalamzoo River, costing billions of dollars in cleanup and reconstruction should have been a wake-up call to start aggressively limiting the construction of pipelines. That spill, even with over a billion invested in cleanup, continues to have lingering impacts on the environment and health of everyone living in its aftermath.

Enbridge claims shutting this pipeline down would cause local energy shortages and price hikes, but as Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has pointed out, they would likely go up a maximum of 5 to 11 cents a gallon, with expert testimony in publicly available court cases citing likely increases of less than half a cent per gallon. With this in mind, it makes absolutely no economic sense to continue propping up such a dangerous system. I’m sure more folks would rather have clean drinking water and viable habitats than they would and extra few pennies every time they go to the gas station.

Also, I’m not affiliated with local tribes, but if they’re feeling so unheard in this specific process that they no longer publicly support your process, it’s a pretty clear indicator that the Army Corps is more interested in rushing through this construction project than they are in listening to local leaders and constituents directly impacted by this work.

I am writing to express my dissent of the Line 5 pipeline. I would prefer if no pipeline was put in our great ladies. We should focus on protecting the Great Lakes by removing pipelines, reducing impact on the lakes and communities reliant on the lakes. The impact of the project environmentally and financially will negatively affect the people living in and around the Great Lakes. Over 60 tribal groups have opposed the pipeline, and as our original land stewards, I follow their example and oppose the construction of this pipeline. I support the decommissioning of the pipeline. The risk of potential oil spill is great, affecting tribal rights, water quality and environmental quality of the Great Lakes region. Shutting down Line 5, according to studies, would not impact oil supply in Michigan or prices. Also, Governor Whitney order the line shut down in 2021, and Enbridge did not obey her order. Reducing the opportunity of an oil spill in the Great Lakes, which holds 20% of the worlds accessible fresh water, should be top priority, and Enbridge isn’t even an American company. They have a history of major spills. Line 5 alone has spilled since 1968, releasing 1.1 million gallons of oil into our water. We depend on our fresh water for fisheries, drinking water, recreation, to support wildlife, and tourism. This is pure Michigan. Not oily Michigan. Not Oil Spill Lakes. Not Enbridge State. Furthermore, the easement has major compliance issues, compounded with the demonstrated history of spills and damage, does not bode well for protecting our natural resources or our communities. There is also a lack of transparency about safety inspections and measures, what petroleum products are pumped through. Also, Michigan only received 5-10% of the petroleum from this pipeline. And I firmly believe we need to focus on reducing our carbon emissions and protecting our waterways. Thank you.

Shut down line 5.

I write to ask you to REJECT the Line 5 tunnel project and any rushed approval process related to it. This tunnel has not undergone a comprehensive risk assessment, experts have reviewed this and declare it to be complicated, dangerous, and technically challenging. Politics are being played to try to fast track this unnecessarily, and rushing it could cause catastrophic results fordrinking water, wildlife, and Michigan’s economy. there is no scenario where this makes sense, please do the right thing and reject the Line 5 tunnel in totality, but at least reject the rushing of a decision and design.

The Line 5 Tunnel Project should proceed. It appears to be the best alternative to the replacement to the current pipeline. There will be much less environmental impact than shipments by truck, rail, or water.