Michigan Tribes to US Supreme Court: Don’t Bail Out Enbridge

Ten Tribal Nations located in Michigan filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reject Enbridge’s “underhanded procedural tactics” in a case pitting the State of Michigan against the Canadian oil pipeline company. The Michigan Attorney General brought this lawsuit in 2019, invoking its state public trust responsibility to shut down the aging Line 5 dual pipelines that run dangerously through open water in the Straits of Mackinac. After Michigan secured a favorable initial ruling in state court – and more than two years past the legal deadline – Enbridge attempted to move the case to federal court. The federal district court accepted the case, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit overturned that decision and sent the case back to state court. Then, Enbridge asked the Supreme Court to intervene.

The Straits of Mackinac lie at the center of the Great Lakes and are sacred to Anishinaabe people who have lived in Michigan since time immemorial. An oil spill caused by the Line 5 dual pipelines would devastate Tribal lifeways and contaminate the source of drinking water for over 40 million people.

“The continued operation of Line 5 puts my Tribal Nation in grave danger,” said Whitney Gravelle, President of the Bay Mills Indian Community. “These waters are the heart of creation for the Anishinaabe – where our stories begin and our ancestors still speak. Enbridge’s deployed stall tactics threaten all that is sacred. Michigan made the right choice to end this pipeline, and we stand with the Attorney General to defend our rights, our waters, and the future of the Great Lakes for the next seven generations.”

The Tribes argue that Michigan’s shutdown order rightfully preserves their treaty-protected rights to fish and to practice their culture in the Straits, and that Enbridge’s belated attempt to shift the judicial playing field is unlawful. The Tribes, which are all represented by Earthjustice, include Bay Mills Indian Community, Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Hannahville Indian Community, Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi Tribe (NHBP), Pokagon Band of Potawatomi, and the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians.

“Enbridge missed a court deadline by more than two years, without excuse, and now they want to change the rules,” said Supreme Court Counsel Caroline Flynn at Earthjustice. “The Supreme Court should see through Enbridge’s transparent attempt at gamesmanship.”

The brief spotlights the experiences of two Tribes directly affected by the rupture of Enbridge’s Line 6B in 2010. That line’s failure led to 840,000 gallons of crude oil spilled along the Kalamazoo River, incurring over a billion dollars in cleanup costs and depleting plant and animal diversity, whose impacts can still be seen more than a decade later. The dual pipelines at issue in Line 5 are older and riskier than Line 6B; while the Kalamazoo River spill affected 35 miles of shoreline, experts say a spill in the Straits could risk over a thousand miles along the Great Lakes.

###