Environmental groups gathered over the weekend to mark the 15th anniversary of an oil spill into the Kalamazoo River. The message they delivered: that the oil spill was a warning about what could happen if an oil pipeline running through the Great Lakes isn’t shut down.

Tent booths were set up to represent different groups that responded to what happened 15 years ago when Enbridge’s Line 6B burst. 1.2 million gallons of oil were recovered from that tar sands spill along more than 35 miles of the Kalamazoo River and one of its tributaries near Marshall, Michigan.

The Michigan Climate Action Network organized the event at Historic Bridge Park near Battle Creek. The site was chosen because it was part of the long stretch of contaminated shoreline.

Denise Keele, executive director of the Michigan Climate Action Network, said no one has forgotten the damage caused by Line 6B. That’s why they worry about Line 5.
“The message remains the same: to shut down Line 5 and no oil tunnel. We are here today on the 15th anniversary of the Kalamazoo River oil spill so that history does not repeat itself. We should learn from our mistakes.”

Keele added that another mistake is the continued use of fossil fuels, which she said is causing climate disruption.

Nichole Keway Biber, Mid-Michigan organizer for Michigan Clean Water Action and a citizen of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, pointed out that Line 5 is more than 30 years older than Line 6B was when it ruptured.

“The many places that 645-mile-long pipeline crosses over waters is close by to the Great Lakes, beyond just the absurdity of that four-mile-stretch beneath the Straits. That’s all a threat. That pipeline is over 70-years-old.”

Some of the environmental leaders who spoke included Sean McBrearty, coordinator of the Oil and Water Don’t Mix campaign. He talked about the negligence that led to the 2010 spill.

“This was entirely man-made. And it was only as big as it became because the negligence of the people who now the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the federal government are asking us to trust the Great Lakes with.”

McBrearty said the devastating Line 6B disaster—one of the largest inland oil spills in the U.S.—sparked a movement.

“A movement that says never again are we going to let major corporations like Enbridge spill oil into our rivers. A movement that says we’re going to protect our Great Lakes. And make sure the same company responsible for this oil spill does not strike again, this time with a larger pipeline running more oil in the heart of the Great Lakes.”
Currently, the Michigan Department of

Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) is taking public comments on permit applications submitted by Enbridge. The company wants to build a tunnel under the Straits of Mackinac to house a new segment of Line 5. The existing pipeline sits on the lakebed connecting Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.

Beth Wallace, Great Lakes climate and energy director for the National Wildlife Federation, said EGLE is falling short in its responsibility. She said the agency should be reviewing not only the impacts at the tunnel’s entry and exit points but also the broader environmental damage tunneling could cause.

“Who are the decisions really serving? They’re not the people of Michigan. They’re not the tribes who have stewarded these waters for generations, and not the millions that rely on the Great Lakes.”

When asked what the groups are willing to do to stop Line 5 and the proposed tunnel, Wallace said that if EGLE does not do its job fully, the National Wildlife Federation will take the agency to court.

Nichole Keway Biber responded: “Our Indigenous people and our nations and our allies aren’t going to let this happen. We cannot. We cannot. So, if they want us to be up there camping out, and bring our drums, and bring our medicine, we’re ready to do that.”

Enbridge responded in a statement, saying it is committed to safeguarding the Great Lakes and welcomes the public comment process now underway.

EGLE is accepting public comments on Enbridge’s proposed tunnel under the Straits of Mackinac until August 29.

Lester Graham, reporting for Michigan Public News