Tribes withdraw Line 5 tunnel cooperation in protest of Trump’s “energy emergency” declaration
According to Interlochen Public Radio (IPR), Six native tribes in Michigan have withdrawn their support of the Line 5 tunnel project in a formal letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Up until last week, the tribal nations were involved as cooperating agencies in federal discussions for the Enbridge project, but have rescinded their support after learning of plans to fast-track the tunnel permit under President Trump’s invoking of an “energy emergency,” IPR reported.
Line 5 carries oil and liquid natural gas across the Straits of Mackinac, running 645 miles from Superior, Wisconsin, to Sarnia, Ontario. Canadian company Enbridge is planning to replace a four-mile section that contains twin pipelines with an underground tunnel.
Tunnel construction cannot begin without the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers first conducting an environmental review and granting a permit to Enbridge.
The tribes already had concerns about the process, but that was “the final straw,” said Whitney Gravelle, president of the Bay Mills Indian Community.
"The Corps’ agreement to establish a cooperating agency relationship with Tribal Nations appears to have been another “check-the-box” exercise on its way towards permitting Enbridge’s proposed project," the tribes said in the letter. "The Tribal Nations intend to withdraw as Cooperating Agencies in the NEPA process effective immediately."
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