Action Alerts

Protect the Great Lakes from a dangerous pipeline project

What's At Stake

Thanks to our victory before Michigan’s Supreme Court – and public pressure from across the country – Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has finally reversed her support for Enbridge’s risky Line 5 tunnel project. But will she walk the talk?  

Under Gov. Whitmer, the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) has approved almost all of the permits that Enbridge needs to construct a never-before-tried oil tunnel below the Straits of Mackinac to house its Line 5 oil pipeline.  

Only one permit remains: EGLE has until Monday, November 30 to consider granting Enbridge a pollutant discharge permit.  Can you join us in urging Gov. Whitmer to reject the final permit? 

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Recent events in neighboring Wisconsin, where Enbridge badly mangled a standard Line 5 construction job, highlight what’s at stake for Michigan.  

This summer, Enbridge caused the largest natural gas liquids spill in Wisconsin’s history during its project to reroute Line 5. A flatbed truck rolled into an open construction trench and struck the pipeline, releasing more than 1.3 million gallons of natural gas into the air. When ordered to stop construction, Enbridge ignored Wisconsin regulators and kept going. Altogether, Enbridge has caused at least eight drilling fluid spills while rerouting Line 5, releasing thousands of gallons into the Bad River watershed. That’s despite assuring community members that this was “the most studied project in state history.” 

What happened in Wisconsin doesn’t have to happen in Michigan. Enbridge’s proposal to dig a tunnel below the Straits of Mackinac and pump oil through it has never been attempted before.  

A catastrophic oil spill in the center of the Great Lakes would devastate Tribal lifeways, cost billions of taxpayer dollars to clean up, and contaminate the source of drinking water for more than 40 million people.   

It’s time for Gov. Whitmer to follow through on her tough talk. We have until November 30 to tell Michigan to reject this final permit.  

The Pipe Out Paddle Up Floatilla Against the Line 5 pipeline in Mackinaw City, Michigan, on Saturday, September 3, 2022.
The "Pipe Out Paddle Up" floatilla against the Line 5 pipeline in Mackinaw City, Mich., on Sept. 3, 2022. (David Ruck for Earthjustice)

32 Days Remain

Delivery to Gov. 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.

Elected officials pay attention when they see that we are paying attention. Read more.

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

Our legislators serve at the pleasure of the people who gave them their job — you.

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.

Whether or not you voted for them, they work for you, for the duration of their term.

Make sure your elected officials know whose community and whose values they represent. (Find your local, state, and federal elected officials.)

Your action is with us in court.

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.

Lawsuits we file that challenge weak or harmful federal regulations rely on what was submitted during the comment period. The court can only look at documents that are in the Administrative Record — including the public comments — to decide if the agency did something improper.

Your actions aid our litigation. Taking action and submitting comments during a comment period is substantively important.

It’s the law.

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

Many of us may have never heard of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), but laws like these require our government to ask the public to weigh in before agencies adopt or change regulations.

Regulations essentially describe how federal agencies will carry out laws — including decisions that could undermine science, or weaken safeguards on public health.

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.