Bay Mills Indian Community submits comments urging state to reject Line 5 tunnel permits

by Trevor Drew

Tue, October 20th 2020, 6:17 PM UTC

FILE - In this June 8, 2017, file photo, fresh nuts, bolts and fittings are ready to be added to the east leg of the pipeline near St. Ignace, Mich., as Enbridge prepares to test the east and west sides of the Line 5 pipeline under the Straits of Mackinac in Mackinaw City, Mich. Gov. Rick Snyder hopes to use the final weeks of his tenure to lock in a deal allowing construction of a hotly debated oil pipeline tunnel beneath a channel linking two of the Great Lakes. (Dale G Young/Detroit News via AP, File)

STRAITS OF MACKINAC., (WPBN/WGTU) -- The Bay Mills Indian Community have submitted formal comments to the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, in opposition to Enbridge’s permit applications for its Line 5 pipeline tunnel project.

BMIC said they have concerns over lack of information Enbridge has provided to the state, specifically, information they said is required to determine whether or not the tunnel project satisfies the state’s legal requirements.

“We have said all along that this pipeline poses an existential threat to our rights under treaties we have signed with the United States,” said Bryan Newland, BMIC tribal chairman. “This pipeline also poses a grave danger to the watersheds of three of the five Great Lakes. We are going to make sure that the state has a clear picture of these risks, and of their responsibility to protect our waters and our rights.”

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BMIC is urging the state to reject Enbridge’s applications for permits in accordance with the Clean Water Act and Michigan’s Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act.

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