Tar sands are mined from beneath the ancient boreal forest on indigenous land. Pipelines operated by the Canadian Enbridge carry this form of extreme oil through the Great Lakes region.  Their malfunction regularly compromises local water supply.  Because Enbridge pipelines are managed from across the border, local residents can be left powerless before a major spill.  This was the case in Michigan in 2010 when Line 6B ruptured, unleashing a billion gallons of tar sands into the Kalamazoo River that runs to Lake Michigan.  Repair of this pipeline brought a near doubling of its carrying capacity.

The Enbridge corporation’s record of defying state and tribal mandates to shut down pipelines, seizing private property through eminent domain, and setting militarized police on peaceful protestors has many people around the Great Lakes demanding an end to these risky pipelines.

These demands crescendo in the movement to shut down Line 5, a seventy year old pipeline that lies on the Straits of Mackinac that connect Lakes Michigan and Huron.  Throughout its 645 miles from Superior, Wisconsin on Lake Superior to Sarnia, Ontario on Lake Huron, Line 5 imperils the waters of the Great Lakes.

Communities and leaders across the pipeline’s span advocate to decommission Line 5 and protect freshwater for the present and the future.  As in many struggles to stop fossil fuel pipelines, indigenous people stand at the forefront of the movement to stop Line 5.  Their call is echoed by a wide range of people from urban, suburban, and rural communities and all political persuasions and backgrounds, showing the degree to which love of freshwater unifies Great Lakes people.

The Freshwater Lab is active in documenting efforts to stop Line 5.

Not Just Another Pipeline

By Louise Erdrich, New York Times | December 2020

A ‘Toxic Tour’ of the Whiting Refinery on the Shores of Lake Michigan

By Ryan Schnurr, BELT Magazine | August 2017

The Oil Pipelines Putting the Great Lakes at Risk

By Ryan Schnurr, BELT Magazine | July 2017