Line 5, an oil and natural gas pipeline going through the Straits of Mackinac, was approved for Canadian corporation Enbridge Energy to build in the 1950s. As of now, Line 5 is almost 70 years old. At the time it was built in the 1950s, it’s intended lifetime was 50 years, meaning it’s currently at 136% of its lifespan. The last maintenance check performed was two years ago, and no faults were found. Enbridge is using these results as proof of the pipe’s reliability; however, due to its overextended lifespan, the pipeline could rupture at any moment. Moreover, Enbridge has already proven to have lied about pipeline stability in the past, causing oil spills like the infamous Kalamazoo, Michigan spill.

Line 5 has spilled OVER 1 MILLION GALLONS OF OIL into the Great Lakes, with nearly 30 oil spills throughout its lifetime, increasing with age

Enbridge is responsible for 804 oil spills from 1999 to 2010 (statistically 2-3 a month), many of which are not cleaned up, as well as the largest inland oil spill and costliest inland oil spills in US history due to routine negligence and lack of accountability

• Kalamazoo, Michigan, 2010 oil spill by Enbridge cost $800 million to clean up and contaminated 31 miles of Michigan water and wetlands, causing 320 people to get sick from crude oil exposure. Worst of all, multi-billion dollar Enbridge KNEW about the faulty pipeline five years earlier but lied to avoid paying for it
• Grand Rapids, Minnesota, 1991 oil spill by Enbridge was 1.7 million gallons of oil spilt into Minnesota waters and the Mississippi River
• In Northern Wisconsin, 2007 oil spill by Enbridge was a quarter million gallons of oil spilt into Wisconsin farmland, a drainage ditch, and a local water table, contaminating drinking water for local residents. Of the 250,000 spilt, only 90,000 gallons were ever removed
• More oil spills by Enbridge are documented in this article under Oil Spills with sources cited at the bottom: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enbridge

If the operation of Line 5 is allowed to continue, the ecological and economical impacts will be devastating. Several local Native American tribes and communities rely on these waters, which are sacred, for food, water, and their ways of life. Moreover, if the Great Lakes, responsible for supplying much of North America with fresh water, are even further polluted by a greedy multibillion  dollar corporation, Michigan communities and ecosystems will be left with less and less clean water available.

Furthermore, though there may be some benefits right now to the pipeline’s supply, crude oil and natural gas will cease to exist as an energy source by 2100 (https://www.worldometers.info/oil/ making those benefits severely limited, not to mention that currently Line 5 does not provide a significant amount of oil to the states. We should be investing in sustainable energy sources for the state to ensure a future for all life in Michigan and the surrounding states that rely on the lakes rather than lining the pockets of another already-rich foreign corporation. 

The governor of Michigan has ordered Line 5 shut down, but Enbridge claims it will only listen to an executive order from both the American and Canadian federal governments as they were what approved the expansion of the line during the Trump administration; however, the deal itself was struck illegally as deals involving the Great Lakes must be approved by the Ohio, Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Ontario governments, which it was not. Enbridge is looking to expand Line 5 for more profit in spite of protests. The governor’s suing Enbridge, but the court case may take years as court cases involving multi billion dollar corporations that lobby to the government tend to, but executive orders from President Biden and the Canadian government would shut down the line and allow for Michigan to enforce the governor’s orders. Alternatively, an evaluation by the federal safety administration that finds Line 5 to be unsafe would also force it to shut down.

Sign to pressure President Biden, the Canadian federal government, and the federal safety administration to order line 5 shut down. For us, everyone, and our futures!

P.S. Thank to anyone thinking of doing so, but please do NOT donate to this petition. The purpose of this is to spread awareness and gather signatures. Any and all donations go to the company behind Change.org, NOT any specific cause.