This reporting was made possible through a partnership with Grist and Interlochen Public Radio in northern Michigan.
Seven Indigenous peoples have withdrawn from discussions about Michigan’s oil and gas liquid pipelines, citing federal agencies not properly involved with tribal governments in the process.
The move is expected to spark a lawsuit that hopes the tribes will block the controversial Line 5 project, a 645-mile pipeline that carries 500,000 barrels of crude oil and natural gas fluid per day. Enbridge, the company on the fifth line, proposed a tunnel under the Great Lakes to replace the 72-year-old pipeline section.
Tribal countries have been involved in the permitting process since 2020, when Enbridge applied to build underground tunnels for the pipeline, but are increasingly unhappy with tribal expertise, opinions, concerns and negotiations that ignored the rights of the rights of the undermined treaty.
On March 20, the tribe said the Army Corps of Engineers, the agency assessing the project and its environmental impact, was likely to grant Enbridge a swiftly tracked permit for the tunnel under President Donald Trump. Energy Emergency Declarationeffectively created a new class of permits to increase the energy supply. The announcement urged the withdrawal, according to the tribe.
“Tribal countries are no longer willing to spend their time and resources as cooperative institutions. [Environmental Impact Statement] They wrote on March 21st Letter to the army.
Whitney Gravel, president of the Bay Mills Indian Community, said the tunnel would destroy “indigenous lifestyles, my way of life,” “not just for the Great Lakes, but for all the Great Lakes anishinabes.”
“We’re not going to get involved in the process now, we’re going to do what we need to do now,” she added.
Michigan tribal nations, and other countries around the country, have long argued that pipelines are not safe, and that the tunnels further threaten their way of life by connecting Michigan with Lake Huron to Huron, expanding the possibility of oil spills into the Mackinac Strait, which could pollute North America’s largest water source.
In an email, Enbridge spokesman Ryan Duffy said the tunnel “makes safe pipelines safer, while ensuring ongoing energy for important, safe and affordable energy to the Great Lakes region.” However, critics say the risks have not yet been properly analyzed, and the Army argues that they consider the risks and impacts of oil spills. Exceeding the scope of that authority It should be done by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Agency. Despite this stance, the Secretary of the Department of Defense Secretary was held in early January. Instructed the Army to carry out the assessment.. It will likely be ignored under the Trump administration’s executive order, according to tribal lawyers.
In an email, Army spokesman Carrie Fox said the agency has reviewed the tribal letters and relied on existing ones. Rules New steps to speed up permitting eligible projects under Trump’s executive order Posted publicly.
It gets heavier towards Enbridge, according to Matthew Fletcher, a law professor and citizen of the University of Michigan’s Ottawa and Chippewa Indian Grand Traverse Band.
“The rule of law is basically dead. Enbridge and the federal government are not acting in good faith,” he said in an email. “In this administration, no matter what the tribes are saying, what they do, whatever they do, whatever they provide, it must be clear to them that Enbridge will absolutely get what they want from the United States.”
There is not a single tribe. The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues has been repeated Called Free, advance, and informed consent for affected Indigenous peoples, or halts of pipeline operations to the FPIC have been secured. The FPIC is a right guaranteed under international law that states must consult with Indigenous peoples in good faith and obtain consent for development projects on the land, and the United States has not yet codified its obligations.
“Laws requiring Indian and tribal consent or consultation pose a threat to the entire industry,” Fletcher said. “I assure that this administration will ignore and/or lightly niggle all of these laws on behalf of its constituents that induce and pollution.”
But even if they adhere to the Trump administration’s “America First” priorities, the tunnel project should not receive quick tracked permissions, said David Gober, a Native American Rights Fund lawyer representing Baymill. “You’re talking about a project that serves Canadian companies and Canada’s interests, line 5,” he said.
Many of the oil and gas products in the pipeline pass through Michigan and then to Canadian refineries, but Enbridge say The pipeline provides jobs and other benefits to the state. Over half Michigan propane. These benefits are not rewarded in the long term, Opponentand experts say the continued operation of the pipeline will create hundreds of billions of dollars in climate damage. Furthermore, replacing that section of the pipeline does not generate more capacity.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“We are a multifaceted government, and not all tribes are opposed to oil, but all tribes in Michigan are standing up saying this is a bad project,” President Gravel said. “If we want to protect one of the most valuable resources that is the Great Lakes itself, we will abolish this for these future generations.”
Editor’s Note: Earthjustice, one of the leading law firms in the Bay Mills Indian community, is an advertiser with Grist. Advertisers have no role in Grist’s editorial decisions.
