Protesters met at the Michigan Capitol Thursday in opposition to Enbridge’s Line 5 oil pipeline. The gathering took place a day after a shutdown deadline ordered by Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
Six months ago, Governor Gretchen Whitmer gave Enbridge Energy 180 days to stop transporting oil under the Straits of Mackinac. That deadline arrived on Wednesday. Enbridge is defying the order, as Line 5 continues to operate.
Mary Brady-Enerson is the executive director of Clean Water Action in Michigan. She was among the dozens of protesters serving symbolic eviction notices to the lawyers and lobbyists of the Canadian oil transport company.
“Let everyone know that the people of Michigan don’t want this thing. Enbridge is trespassing. They aren’t trustworthy and we want them out of here," she said.
Ross Fisher is an organizer with the group Oil and Water Don’t Mix. He delivered a thank you card to Governor Whitmer for her efforts in attempting to shut down Line 5.
“Line 5 is in the worst possible place to have an oil spill in the Great Lakes, and that impacts not only Indigenous communities, that impacts our economy, tourism," he said. "All the things that Michigan relies on would be devastated by Line 5.”
Enbridge has filed a lawsuit claiming it's up to the federal government to regulate the safety of the pipeline and not the state of Michigan.
