Action Alerts

No new permits for Line 5

What's At Stake

The Great Lakes are under attack. Canadian fossil fuel giant Enbridge is trying to build a never-tried-before underground tunnel to transport 23 million gallons of oil and gas each day under the Straits of Mackinac in the Great Lakes. If this is approved, the Line 5 pipeline will continue to put the region at risk for a disastrous oil spill and would lock in fossil fuel production for 99 more years. Send a letter today and tell Governor Whitmer to stop the Line 5 tunnel project!

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Governor Whitmer ordered the Line 5 pipeline to cease operations in May of 2021, but instead of complying, Enbridge fought the order in court. The company is moving forward with plans for a risky tunnel that experts say could cause a “catastrophic explosion” and irreparable damage to the Anishinaabe peoples of the Great Lakes.

The Straits of Mackinac is a place of immense spiritual and cultural significance to the Bay Mills Indian Community, and the sacred birthplace in their creation story. Since time immemorial, Anishinaabe Tribal Nations have harvested traditional medicines, plants, and foods from the Great Lakes Basin, including abundant lake trout and whitefish. Today, over half of Bay Mills households rely on commercial fishing for all or part of their income. The tunnel project poses a grave threat to Bay Mills’ lifeways.

If this tunnel project is approved, Michigan will accelerate the climate crisis and risk poisoning the Great Lakes, which supply 20% of the world’s surface freshwater. There is much to gain and little to lose by shutting down Line 5, which would reduce our reliance on oil while barely impacting gas prices. Tell Governor Whitmer to oppose the Line 5 tunnel project.

Protestors paddle next to the Mackinac Bridge at the Pipe Out Paddle Up Floatilla Against the Line 5 pipeline in Mackinaw City. (Sarah Rice for Earthjustice)
Protestors paddle next to the Mackinac Bridge at the Pipe Out Paddle Up Floatilla Against the Line 5 pipeline in Mackinaw City. (Sarah Rice for Earthjustice)

Delivery to Governor Whitmer

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Your Actions Matter

Your messages make a difference, even if we have leaders who don't want to listen. Here's why.

You level the playing field.

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They may be hearing from industry lobbyists left and right, but hearing the stories of their constituents — that’s your power.

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Make sure your elected officials know whose community and whose values they represent. When you contact your elected official, you’re putting a face and a name on an issue.

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If a federal agency finalizes a harmful action, the record of public comments provides a basis for bringing them into court. Read more.

Throughout each of the public comment periods we alert you to, Earthjustice’s attorneys are researching and writing in-depth, technical comments to submit — detailing how the regulation could and should be stronger to protect the environment, our communities, and our planet.

We need you to join us — your specific experiences, knowledge, and voice are crucial to add to the Administrative Record through the comment periods.

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It’s the law.

Federal agencies must pause what they’re doing and ask for — and consider — your comment. Read more.

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Public comments are collected at various points throughout the federal government’s rulemaking process, including when a regulation is proposed and finalized. (Learn about the rulemaking process.) These comments become part of the official, legal public record — the “Administrative Record.”

When the public responds with a huge outpouring of support for environmental protections, these individual messages collectively undercut politicians' attempts to claim otherwise.

What this means is each of us can take a role in shaping the rules our government creates — and ensuring those rules are fair and effective.