The proposed Line 5 tunnel in Michigan is being sold as a reasonable replacement to the dangerous and aging twin pipelines running between Lakes Michigan and Huron in the Straits of Mackinac.It is anything but.
The tunnel scheme has been red flagged by engineering experts, environmental advocates, Tribal leaders, Michigan business leaders, local residents, and more across the state.
One of the final opportunities to speak out against this fossil fuel threat in our Great Lakes is right now. Until June 30th, public comment can be submitted on the wastewater permit submitted by Enbridge to the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) for their tunnel construction.
On June 18 the virtual public hearing for spoken comment was held, where the majority of people spoke in opposition, including several Clean Water Action staff and members. The following are remarks given at that public hearing:
Dr. Nichole Keway-Biber, Clean Water Action Michigan Water Justice Organizer and Tribal Member of the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians:
Because of the proposed discharge volume, duration, pollutant and treatment uncertainty, receiving-water sensitivity and cumulative impacts, the public-interest means that EGLE cannot legally authorize a NPDES permit for this proposed tunnel project. That sentence may become familiar, as the OWDM coalition has worked to provide guidance on effective public comments.
Masses of people are rightly horrified by the ongoing threat of Line 5 and by the further degradation the proposed Tunnel would inflict on our shared waters. Together we strive to counteract the massive amounts of money Enbridge deploys to disperse propaganda, bribe local municipalities, and buy influence with politicians.
The overall piecemeal permitting process allows Enbridge to set the terms with permit language that determines what EGLE can actually consider. This favors the unproven reassurances and cherry-picked data of the profit-motivated corporation while conveniently leaving out the big picture cumulative impacts of the entirety of Line 5’s 645 mile long, 73-year-old menace and experimental Tunnel mess.
Nevertheless, EGLE is granted the authority to make decisions based on real-world science, not based on pinky promises and convenient narratives elevated by financially vested parties. Importantly, what this “best foot forward” wastewater permit does admit to is already egregious and damaging enough to legally empower EGLE to use your authority to deny this permit.
Millions of gallons a day of industrial construction wastewater going into Lake Michigan, each day of a projected 6 year project. The actual composition of the wastewater is replete with unknowns, and thereby of unknown impact on already suffering ecologies. Meanwhile the estimated 85-degree temperature of the discharge waters will absolutely be harmful to aquatic life particularly accustomed to the freshwaters of the Great Lakes.
How much more are water and wildlife expected to take? Whitefish populations have plummeted, my tribe and others are trying to preserve those lives of deep importance to our cultural responsibilities. Further spoiling these waters completely undermines the restorative vision and actions necessary to truly secure the future of all Michigan's people and waters and wildlife. That must be deemed impermissible, at long last, unless the public trust is to be rendered meaningless. Our children deserve to inherit the wonders and joys of a thriving world shared with more-than-human relatives, not a wasteland of polluted, heated waters and deadzoned industrial sites.
Deny this wastewater permit, and together we can demand a clean water future.
Jennifer Schlicht, Clean Water Action Michigan Communications Manager:
Good evening. My name is Jennifer Schlicht, I’m a resident of Ypsilanti and a lifelong Michigander. Thank you to EGLE staff for your time tonight.
EGLE should not approve first and ask questions later. The Great Lakes are the most important freshwater ecosystems in the world. As Michiganders we are literally defined by them. And within the Great Lakes the Straits of Mackinac is one of if not the most sensitive areas across the water.
Many critical details are still unresolved in this application, especially including final water treatment additives. The application says water treatment additives will be used, but that they will be submitted separately for EGLE approval. That is not good enough. Potential additives may include: Biocides, Flocculants, Water conditioners, pH-adjusting agents, Other treatment chemicals - we simply do not know. Tat is not okay.
EGLE should not approve the overall discharge framework before the public has a clear understanding of what chemicals may be used, at what concentrations, and with what potential impacts on Lake Michigan will be.These unresolved details go directly to whether the project can protect Lake Michigan. They should be resolved before any permit approval is even considered.
This permit would allow wastewater from tunnel excavation, boring, slurry handling, groundwater infiltration, and construction operations to be discharged into Lake Michigan. This is not simple wastewater discharge issue, it is tied to major tunnel construction in one of the most ecologically sensitive and important areas of our state.
Enbridge also proposes to withdraw up to 2 million gallons per day directly from Lake Michigan. This is a significant withdrawal of Great Lakes water for an industrial construction project.
Line 5 can go around the Straits. Too many living beings, human and animal, rely on Lakes Michigan and Huron.
The future of Michigan is dependent upon our Great Lakes. It should not be put in the hands of a company with an incredibly awful track record in this state as it is. Fool Michigan once, shame on Enbridge. I hope everyone is familiar with the biological and economic disaster that was the Line 6B Spill, directly caused by their gross negligence. And their record in Michigan beyond the Kalamazoo disaster is incredibly shameful, to say the least.
Since then, regulators and courts have repeatedly had to intervene after spills, safety violations, environmental permit violations, consent decree violations, and easement disputes. And now we are looking at another piecemeal permit that does NOT look at the cumulative impact but even on its own does not stand up to basic scrutiny from a layperson, much less the higher standard that EGLE should embody.
Fool Michigan yet again, shame on us.
We are the Great Lakes state and it is our responsibility, and EGLE’s in particular, to be stewards and guardians of the irreplaceable freshwater wonder that they are.
The burden should be on the applicant and the permitting agency to demonstrate that this discharge can occur without degrading water quality or harming the resources that make the Straits of Mackinac one of the most valuable freshwater ecosystems in the world. The current draft permit does not meet that standard.
Because of the proposed discharge volume duration, pollutant and treatment uncertainty, receiving-water sensitivity, and cumulative impacts to the public-interest, EGLE cannot legally authorize a NPDES permit for this proposed tunnel project. Thank you for your time.
Emily Woodcock, Clean Water Action Interim Michigan State Director:
Good evening, thank you for your time. My name is Emily Woodock and I’m the interim Michigan Director for Clean Water Action. Before this I was the canvass director for our Ann Arbor office, and myself and my staff have spoken to 10s of 1000s of Michiganders across the state all opposed to this dangerous tunnel scheme.
In this application, Enbridge has failed to prove that its tunnel construction wastewater, additives, slurry materials, sediment, oil and grease, and water withdrawals will not harm Lake Michigan or the Straits of Mackinac.
Even if the 73 year old Line 5 pipeline holds, the tunnel construction and wastewater associated would be devastating.
This is not a routine wastewater permit. This tunnel would irreparably harm the Straits of Mackinac, one of the most ecologically significant areas of the most important freshwater resource in the world. The Straits of Mackinac and Lakes Michigan and Huron support fisheries, drinking water supplies, recreation, tourism, and treaty-protected tribal resources.
Michigan needs those to ensure a sustainable future. Michigan does not need a destructive fossil fuel tunnel plowing through such an important waterway.
This is not about financial gain. It’s about wastewater in the lake. Up to 7 million gallons per day of discharge to Lake Michigan.
It’s about what the future holds for an irreplaceable resource. All for the benefit of a shortcut so Enbridge can profit. EGLE must hold them to the highest of standards that our most precious resource requires.
Missing from the current permit application:
- Enforceable water quality-based effluent limits for pollutants reasonably expected to be present in tunnel construction wastewater and boring operations. A complete reasonable potential analysis demonstrating compliance with Michigan water quality standards should have been included.
- Comprehensive routine monitoring including publicly available checks for metals, hydrocarbons, PFAS, and any other potential contaminants and disruptions that could negatively impact the Straits.
- Before authorizing millions of gallons of industrial wastewater discharges, EGLE should demonstrate that existing uses will be fully protected, degradation will not occur, discharge minimization measures have been maximized, and less damaging alternatives have been fully evaluated.
- Independent third-party verification sampling, permit reopener provisions, and adaptive management requirements that would allow EGLE to strengthen permit conditions if monitoring reveals unexpected pollutants or adverse environmental impacts.
And finally, the permit should have evaluated impacts to treaty protected fisheries and resources, including monitoring and protections to ensure that treaty reserved rights are not impacted.
The burden should be on the applicant to demonstrate that this discharge can occur without degrading water quality or harming the resources that make the Straits of Mackinac one of the most valuable freshwater ecosystems in the world. The current draft permit does not meet that standard.
Because of the proposed discharge volume, duration, pollutant and treatment uncertainty, receiving-water sensitivity and cumulative impacts the public-interest means that EGLE cannot legally authorize a NPDES permit for this proposed tunnel project.
The decision is clear, both in terms of protecting the Great Lakes and in regards to this inadequate application. EGLE must deny Enbridge this permit. Thank you.
