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The Pipe Out Paddle Up Floatilla Against the Line 5 pipeline in Mackinaw City, Michigan, on Sept. 3, 2022. (David Ruck for Earthjustice)
Press Release May 22, 2023

Enbridge’s Line 5 Tunnel Could “Rain Devastation and Destruction” on Great Lakes

Michigan regulators weigh final arguments on oil pipeline project

Document May 19, 2023

Final BMIC Post-Hearing Briefs on MPSC Remand

Two final briefs submitted on behalf of the Bay Mills Indian Community to the Michigan Public Service Commission, wrapping up nearly three years of litigation in a contested case over the proposed Line 5 tunnel project in the Straits of Mackinac.

The Bad and White rivers flow through the Bad River Reservation and into Lake Superior in northern Wisconsin. Enbridge's Line 5 pipeline currently crosses both rivers and threatens the Bad River watershed and reservation. (Jaida Grey Eagle for Earthjustice)
Update May 15, 2023

Wisconsin Tribe Seeks Emergency Shutdown of Imperiled Line 5 Pipeline

The pipeline is a few yards from exposure to the Bad River, risking a leak that could spread oil into the Great Lakes.

In the News: Wisconsin Examiner May 12, 2023

Bad River tribe and allies call for emergency Line 5 shutdown

Debbie Chizewer, Managing Attorney, Midwest Office, Earthjustice: “We are extremely alarmed to see the shrinking distance between Line 5, which is operating in trespass of the Bad River Band, and the raging river current. If government officials don’t use their power to shut down Line 5, this disaster will be on their hands.”

In the News: Michigan Advance May 11, 2023

As the anniversary of Enbridge’s refusal to shut down Line 5 approaches, groups press Biden admin

Debbie Chizewer, Managing Attorney of the Midwest Regional Office, Earthjustice: “This 70-year-old pipeline is operating a full 20 years past its design lifetime. Line 5 threatens Tribal Nations and violates the State of Michigan’s shutdown order. It’s time to retire Line 5. Every day that oil flows through the pipeline is another day we risk…

Whitney Gravelle, the president of the Bay Mills Indian Community, photographed in Mackinaw City, Michigan, near where the Line 5 pipeline runs under the Straits of Mackinac. (Sarah Rice for Earthjustice)
Article April 20, 2023

What Biden and Trudeau’s Meeting Tells Us About Climate Hypocrisy

If our leaders were serious about tackling climate change and protecting the Great Lakes, shutting down the Line 5 pipeline would be a layup.

The Ajax asphalt plant is seen mid-construction on May 10, 2022 in Flint, Mich. (Sylvia Jarrus for Earthjustice)
Press Release April 17, 2023

Flint Groups React to Opening of Toxic Ajax Asphalt Plant

Despite two federal civil rights investigations and a lawsuit, Michigan allowed operations to start

Bay Mills Community
(Photo courtesy of Whitney Gravelle)
feature April 14, 2023

One Tribe’s Fight to Protect the Great Lakes

The Bay Mills Indian Community is fighting efforts to extend the life of a dangerous oil pipeline that runs through its tribal territory and one of the world’s most sensitive ecosystems.

In the News: Michigan Live April 13, 2023

Flint, Ajax, community groups explain appeals for controversial asphalt plant permit

Earthjustice Attorney Debbie Chizewer, who represented the five community groups, said the judge’s decision is urgent as Ajax began testing operations this week. “Environmental justice is critically important in this appeal because of the consequences of the facility,” Attorney John Petoskey, representing the community groups, said. “We’re hoping that that was communicated today and it…

In the News: AP News March 23, 2023

Army Corps further delays decision on Great Lakes oil tunnel

Debbie Chizewer, Managing Attorney, Midwest Office, Earthjustice: “It needs to be redone or completely thrown away.”

Document February 17, 2023

Final court brief challenging the Ajax asphalt plant permit in Flint

Five community groups respond to Ajax in a final briefing before the Genesee County Circuit Court. The groups are appealing a decision by Michigan’s environmental agency to allow the Ajax corporation to install a toxic asphalt plant in a predominantly Black, low-income, and environmentally overburdened neighborhood.

Press Release February 6, 2023

Enbridge Ignoring Line 5 Explosion Risk, Warn Two Engineers

Michigan Public Service Commission weighs more testimony on the Line 5 tunnel project

Canoeing the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Northern Minnesota. (Brad Zweerink / Earthjustice)
Article January 26, 2023

We Just Protected a Pristine Midwest Wilderness from Mining

Dangerous mining plans threatened to ruin a pristine wilderness and a town’s thriving economy. Until we stepped in.

Document January 24, 2023

Response Brief to Ajax

Brief in Genesee County Circuit Court responds to Ajax’s arguments, which ask the court to undo the modest pollution controls included in their permit.

Jaida Grey Eagle for Earthjustice
case January 19, 2023

Line 5 Pipeline: Wisconsin Reroute

Line 5 is a 645-mile pipeline operated by Enbridge Energy that transports crude oil and natural gas liquids from Superior, Wisconsin to Sarnia, Ontario. The 69-year-old pipeline has ruptured at least 30 times in the past 50 years, releasing more than 1 million gallons of oil. The Great Lakes are the lifeblood of Tribal Nations across…

The Ajax asphalt plant is seen mid-construction on May 10, 2022 in Flint, Mich. (Sylvia Jarrus for Earthjustice)
case January 19, 2023

Defending Flint, Michigan from a Toxic Asphalt Plant

In the fall of 2021, Michigan’s environmental agency (EGLE) authorized the Ajax corporation to build a toxic hot-mix asphalt plant near Flint. Close to 3,000 people live within a one-mile radius of the plant site, in a low-income area already overburdened with industrial polluters. The asphalt plant will release harmful chemicals like sulfur dioxide and…

staff January 18, 2023

Ann Jaworski

Based in Chicago, Ann’s work focuses on the federal permitting and regulation of fossil fuel transportation and export infrastructure.

Document December 22, 2022

Motion to Intervene in Twin Metals Lease Cancellation Lawsuit

In 2020, Earthjustice sued the Trump administration on behalf of the Wilderness Society, Izaak Walton League of America, and the Center for Biological Diversity for improperly renewing two federal mining leases for Twin Metals. When the Biden administration cancelled those leases, Twin Metals sued. Earthjustice is now seeking to intervene on behalf of the conservation groups to defend the administration’s actions.