Urge the Biden administration to shut down the Line 5 pipeline

In 2019, the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa sued Enbridge for trespassing on their reservation in Wisconsin. A district judge in Wisconsin ruled last September that Enbridge is illegally trespassing and profiting at the Band’s expense. And two years ago, the State of Michigan ordered Line 5 to stop operating — yet Enbridge continues to operate its pipeline in defiance of that order. Now, it is up to the Biden administration to use its power to decommission the pipeline by revoking the presidential permit for Line 5. 

After one month of heavy springtime flooding eroded half the riverbank, the pipeline  is now within a few yards of being exposed in the rushing waters of the Bad River. Collisions with uprooted trees and other debris could easily cause a breach, or the weight of the oil in a pipeline no longer supported by the soil could cause a guillotine rupture. A full-bore rupture of Line 5 at the Bad River meander would result in nearly 22,000 barrels (922,908 gallons) of oil entering the Bad River, just 16 miles upstream of Lake Superior.  

 The Bad River Band has relied on fishing, wild rice, medicines, and other plants and animals from the Bad River and Lake Superior for centuries. A rupture poses a catastrophic threat to their culture, their livelihoods, and to the wider public.  

Enbridge’s own analysts say that shutting down Line 5 would impact gas prices by less than a penny. On the other hand, an oil spill in the Bad River would require millions in cleanup costs and devastate local tourism and fishing in addition to raising gas prices. There is much to gain and little to lose by shutting down Line 5. Send a letter to the Biden administration to decommission the Line 5 pipeline today!