The following statement can be attributed to Sean McBrearty, Michigan Legislative and Policy Director, Clean Water Action:
“Today is a big day for our Great Lakes. After over a year-long review, the Department of Natural Resources has discovered many incurable violations to the 1953 easement that allows Enbridge to operate Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac. We applaud the Governor’s actions to protect Michigan residents and our public trust resources by revoking the 1953 easement and shutting down the Line 5 pipeline. This is yet another example of Governor Whitmer putting the health and safety of Michiganders first and fulfilling the promises she made to voters in 2018.
For 67 years, this pipeline has risked our most precious natural resources and has spilled a cumulative total of over 1 million gallons of oil. With the Governors actions today, this dangerous pipeline will no longer threaten our Great Lakes, the drinking water source of millions of Americans. Thank you to Governor Whitmer for her tremendous leadership.”
###
Since our founding during the campaign to pass the landmark Clean Water Act in 1972, Clean Water Action has worked to win strong health and environmental protections by bringing issue expertise, solution-oriented thinking and people power to the table. Clean Water Action is Michigan’s largest grassroots conservation group with over 133,000 members across the state. Through direct advocacy and education we organize Michigan residents to protect the Great Lakes and our water resources. Learn more at www.cleanwateraction.org/mi
