Activists to Call On Attorney General Bill Schuette and Governor Rick Snyder to Immediately Decommission Line 5 Pipeline

Holt, MI - Today, July 6th, at 3:30pm, Food & Water Watch and Oil and Water Don’t Mix will hold a rally and press conference at Holt High School prior to a Public Hearing on Line 5 to demand that Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette and Governor Rick Snyder take immediate action to decommission Line 5. Dozens of Michigan residents, local business owners, elected officials and health professional are expected to attend.

This event comes after Attorney General Bill Schuette said last week that the 64-year-old twin pipelines running beneath the Straits of Mackinac are unfit to transport oil.

WHAT: Oil & Water Don’t Mix, Food & Water Watch rally and press conference 

WHO: Oil & Water Don’t Mix, Food & Water Watch

WHEN: Rally at 3:30pm; Press Conference at 4:15pm

WHERE: Entrance of Holt High School, 5885 Holt Rd, Holt, Michigan 48842

VISUALS: Activists will bring a giant Attorney General Schuette puppet and speech bubbles depicting his recent statements.  

WHY: Enbridge’s 64-year-old pipelines, Line 5, pass through the Straits of Mackinac, endangering the Great Lakes and drinking water for thirty five million people. Line 5 was built in 1953, prior to the passage of the 1955 Great Lakes Submerged Lands Act, which requires all proposed pipelines to go through a permitting process to ensure that the pipeline’s use of the Lakes would not pose a threat to the water. A 2014 University of Michigan study determined that the Straits of Mackinac is the “worst possible place” for a contaminant release, such as an oil spill, in the Great Lakes. 

A Line 5 spill would be devastating to not only the environment, but also to Michigan’s social and economic structure. Tourism is an enormous economic boon to the state, bringing in over $1.2 billion in visitor spending (2013) and providing jobs for approximately 150,000 residents. 

Enbridge’s track record is far from pristine. Between 2005 and 2013, a reported 91,855 barrels of hydrocarbon products, crude oil and natural gas, were spilled across the country. A dive, sponsored by the National Wildlife Federation, in 2013, discovered “structural defects” in Line 5 and in 2014, a “pinhole” leak was detected in the Upper Peninsula. 

The Great Lakes contain over 20% of the world’s fresh water and any threat to it is a threat to the people that inhabit its basin. Because of the importance of our freshwaters, it is imperative that we hold Attorney General Schuette and Governor Snyder responsible for their protection. We will not accept anything less than a total shutdown of Line 5 and a realistic and progressive plan to transition to sustainable, affordable and efficient renewable energy. 

Oil & Water Don’t Mix is a broad campaign of organizations, citizens and businesses across Michigan who are working to keep oil out of our Great Lakes by shutting down the dangerous, 64-year-old Line 5 Pipelines in the Straits of Mackinac. The campaign fights for clean water and air, Indigenous rights, reducing pollution, sustainable economies and protecting sporting, tourism and jobs that are dependent on our water and Pure Michigan way of life. Learn more at www.oilandwaterdontmix.org.