Posted Draft EIS Comments

I am a born and raised 54 year old Michigander. I love our Great Lakes and oppose Line 5. Enbridge has lied and threatened the State of Michigan for years over Line 5. This is a foreign entity that has a proven track record of shotty material and has caused oil spills in our recent past. They also have a shotty record of oil spills outside our precious state of Michigan in other U.S. states. Let Enbridge’s record stand for what WILL happen in the future; another oil spill. We should have no loyalty to this company.

When spills have occurred in the past their response was slow and inefficient to restoring our natural resources. When the disaster occurs we will have no recourse other than to try to sue them. By then the world’s largest fresh water source will be destroyed. There is no Plan B. We either invest in new technology or wait and pray for a disaster not to strike. That is NOT leadership. There are other ways to distribute resources that are needed.

I do not support Line 5 and pray your search your conscience. Line 5 is wrong for the State of Michigan and wrong for the United States.

Thank you for your serious consideration.

Shelly Winney
1760 Aberdeen St NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49505

Why can’t we just get this pipeline finished. The state economy and citizens of the state need this pipeline to survive. We cannot let a couple acres of endangered species carry more weight than the whole state of Michigan and surrounding area. Let us for once use some common sense and finish what is needed.

Please consider shutting down the line 5 project. Michigan’s lakes are one of the largest fresh water sources in the US. It is vital to our drinking water, food sources and tourism. It would be devastating to our State and others that rely on the lake for drinking water, if a spill happended. Enbridge does not have a safe track record and their assurance cannot be taken seriously. A mishap is bound to occur which would imperil our State’s drinking water, food source, and tourism industry. Please deny Enbridge Line 5 which is used more by Canadian’s than those of us in America.

Thank You

Producing a subterranean enclosed space with pressurized, explosive materials produced by a company with a history of leaks and not expecting it to have a costly, explosive, and possibly catastrophic problem in the future seems naive at best, and negligent at worst. The 2016 simulations by David Schwab showed the 1162 kilometers of shorefront, the 17,000 square miles of open water that could be impacted by a 10,000-barrel oil spill in the Straits of Mackinac. That amount is less than half the amount that Enbridge was responsible for releasing into the Kalamazoo River in 2010. While Enbridge’s estimates of a worst-case spill are less than that, that is based on their planned measures to address potential leaks. Given that the current pipeline has already leaked 1 million gallons over its lifetime and the clear focus on profits over environmental protection, I do not put any confidence in their ability or commitment to following through on an ability to limit leaks below 10,000 barrels. These are the reasons I believe there are considerable environmental risks to the proposed pipeline.
At current prices and the stated flow rate for the current pipeline, it is possible that there are 14.3 billion dollars of petroleum products are transported every year. In exchange for threatening over 1100 kilometers of shoreline and many thousands of square miles of water, Enbridge pays 12.1 million dollars in payroll and 75.8 million dollars in property taxes every year in Michigan. The Lake Huron fisheries are worth 5.1 billion dollars annually alone. That is only one example of the annual economic impact of one body of water threatened by a failure of the proposed pipeline. The possible risk to the shorefront and open water from a potential spill seems far too costly from the environmental and monetary standpoint when compared to what the state gets back in leaking infrastructure and being a pass-through for Enbridge’s oil and money. This is why I believe there is a lack of economic benefit compared to the possible economic loss from future leaks and problems.

I have grown up in Michigan all my life, and remember learning about Line 5 in middle school, and the potential dangers it threatens to my beloved state. Now that I am 22, I continue to be disappointed that nothing has been done to protect Michigan’s freshwater and the ecosystems our water supports— including our own! This risky Line 5 project that has not been verified by environmental scientists and engineers, only taken at the word of those making profit off the risk to our most invaluable resource, threatens a catastrophe that would impact all Michiganders’ health and safety. Our lakes benefit the state of Michigan economically more than the pipeline ever has. We must protect Michigan workers, tourism, and environment and refuse to be put at risk by greedy oil companies. This is a chance to push forward renewable energy that can protect and serve our state for many generations to come, not just until the oil spills or dries up.

I do not approve of Line 5 Tunnel.

We constantly have many projects that mess up local atmospheres and contribute to the issue of global deterioration. I ask that everything that happens with this plan if it does go through at its maximum capacity that there should be a clear limit to how far the project will go and the damage it will cause.

l am writing to urge the Army Corps to reject a rushed approval of the Line 5 tunnel, and to pause all approvals until a full environmental review is completed—including assessments of climate impacts, Indigenous rights, and public health.

It is crucial that this project, which poses risks to the Great Lakes, our climate, and our future, undergo a comprehensive risk assessment. The supposed “energy emergency” used to justify fast-tracking this project is false and politically motivated, and should not override public safety and environmental protections. Approving this tunnel would lock 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.

Then there is the issue of the feasibility of this tunnel’s construction. There are many tunnel experts who have reviewed Enbridge’s plans who are concerned about the logistics of placing a tunnel under the lakebed, considering it to be complicated, dangerous, and technically challenging. Experts also share concerns for the workers who are subjected to the dangerous pipeline construction and operations. 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.

The Line 5 tunnel project has not undergone a comprehensive risk assessment, which is crucial for a project that poses risks to the Great Lakes, our climate, and our future.

Many tunnel experts who have reviewed Enbridge’s plans share concerns for the logistics of placing a tunnel under the lakebed, considering it to be complicated, dangerous, and technically challenging. Experts also share concerns for the workers who are subjected to the dangerous pipeline construction and operations.

The supposed “energy emergency” used to justify fast-tracking this project is false and politically motivated, and should not override public safety and environmental protections.

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 is way too important to take a chance of this magnitude!