The Good, Bad, and Ugly on Line 3

Tags

Biden, CBS Sunday Morning, Climate Crisis, Enbridge, Jen McEwen, LaSalle Valley, Line 3, MDNR, PBS Newshour, Stauber

While I had another idea for the blog this week, with all the news around the changing of administrations here in the U.S., I felt a general update was more in order. So, here’s what’s happening from my perspective.

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Enbridge continues to build their Tar Sands Pipeline in Northern Minnesota – while many in the state continue to be largely unaware that it’s happening. Or that it’s happening SO QUICKLY. I spoke with a local familiar with previous pipeline projects who noted that the SPEED of this project is “breakneck… much faster than when Koch was installing their pipeline”. What could go wrong? Stuff like this. And this:

Pipe truck carrying three pipeline segments speeding into Bagley as Enbridge rushes to gain a new corridor.

On January 21st, we discovered Access Road 38B at the first of two proposed crossings of the Mississippi River. This is in the LaSalle Valley, which is depicted below in “Figure 15” with the proposed LaSalle Creek crossing.

While work at the second crossing is far more destructive thus far, it sure was horrible to see this as we’ve been happy to have quiet mostly since the State of Minnesota illegally approved this pipeline for construction.

The legal front is relatively quiet with the exception of Friends of the Headwaters submitting their challenge to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ 404 permit this week. Please donate to support their work as the cases are far from over… regardless of how quickly Enbridge rushes to build a pipeline before the Minnesota Court of Appeals can stop them! Others have filed as well. [Full disclosure: I’ve submitted a Declarant Statement on that filing.] And Enbridge has intervened. This photo, a part of the submitted documents, shows the worst place to put a Tar Sands pipeline per Paul Stolen of the DNR. This is what we are working to protect.

Photo submitted as part of a federal court filing seeking an injunction against Line 3 construction.
Photo by Alexander Aman. Interpretation by Laura Triplett. From Healing MN Stories 1/23/21

The game is now one of waiting and watching. And what are we seeing? So many stories. I will keep it to a brief few.

DNR began enforcing an area, at the second proposed Mississippi River crossing by this abominable project, initially in response to people being in the area expressing their first amendment rights. This sign was soon put up to create a Exclusion Zone – apparently by Enbridge, creating a No Trespassing Zone and gobbling up public space… which is illegal.

This zone DOUBLES the easement for Enbridge making it illegal for any “normal people” to get close enough to see what is going on and complain.  Enbridge created a buffer zone against public scrutiny. 

LATER the DNR sticker appeared on the sign. and LATER still “ENBRIDGE ENERGY LLC” was whited out.

We are also hearing of vehicles being hooked up to tow trucks WHILE PEOPLE ARE STILL INSIDE THEM. No notice, just… We’re gonna take you and your car away! WTF!?!?

And at an early gathering, Water Protectors dispersed after a warning by Aitkin County Sheriff Department.  Some time later, and without a second dispersal order, DNR began rounding people up in the area, taking them to Aitkin County Jail where multiple problems were reported by Healing Minnesota Stories.

There are MANY and MORE DISTURBING stories to tell. And do you see Minnesota media covering these incidents? More on that at the end of the blog.

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Meanwhile, the ugly face of the Minnesota Nice Deep North comes in the form of Representative Stauber in Washington, D.C. giving example of the audacity of white supremacy in a memo to his colleagues:

Rep. Pete Stauber letter posted on Twitter by Jen McEwen 1-16-21

Tribes were quick to respond:

“(Y)our opposition to the first and only American Indian ever nominated to a cabinet position is likely to reverberate across Indian country,” said the letter to Stauber signed by Melanie Benjamin, Cathy Chavers, Robert F. Deschampe, Kevin R. Dupuis Sr., and Faron Jackson Sr. — tribal chairs representing, respectively, the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, Bois Forte Band of Chippewa, Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe.

“Most concerning is that you did not consult with us as the sovereign federally recognized tribal governments in your district in advance of initiating this effort that has such a direct impact on us as your American Indian constituents,” the letter added.

Minnesota tribes blast Rep. Pete Stauber for opposing Interior nomination PR Enterprise 1-19-21

The U.S. Department of the Interior oversees management and conservation of most federal lands and natural resources.

A separate letter from the Midwest Alliance of Sovereign Tribes, based in Wisconsin, referred to Stauber’s efforts as “unprecedented,” and “a direct affront” to Indian Country. The alliance worked hard to advance Haaland’s nomination, it said, and asked Stauber to “step back” from leading the campaign against Haaland. It referenced Stauber’s position on the House Committee on Natural Resources.

“We are unaccustomed to any member of Congress serving in a leadership position on a committee or subcommittee with jurisdiction over Indian tribes taking such a public role in leading an attack that diametrically opposes the wishes of nearly all of Indian country,” it wrote.”

Minnesota bands rip Pete Stauber for working to deny first Native American from joining US Cabinet Brady Slater | Jan 19th 2021

Well, Fuck Pete Stauber and his racist white supremacy agenda. Here’s hope for maybe saving the planet’s ability to maintain a habitat safe for humans? It sure looks and sounds like Biden is promising to do his best to make it so. Let’s hope that Haaland is appointed and… we have some good news already:

WASHINGTON, Jan. 25, 2021 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture today announced the appointment of Heather Dawn Thompson as Director of the Office of Tribal Relations (OTR) reporting to the Secretary of Agriculture. Thompson is a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, a Harvard Law School graduate, and an expert in American Indian law, tribal sovereignty, and rural tribal economic development. With Thompson in place, USDA will return OTR directly under the Secretary, restoring the office’s important government-to-government role.

U.S. Department of Agriculture Announces Heather Dawn Thompson as Director, Office of Tribal Relations

Meanwhile, Joe’s already starting to reverse the horrors of the last 4 years. Looks like his Executive Order on the Climate Crisis notes that the “heads of all agencies shall immediately review all existing regulations, orders, guidance documents, policies, and any other similar agency actions” that are inconsistent with Biden’s policy “to listen to the science; to improve public health and protect our environment; to ensure access to clean air and water; to limit exposure to dangerous chemicals and pesticides; to hold polluters accountable, including those who disproportionately harm communities of color and low-income communities; to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; to bolster resilience to the impacts of climate change; to restore and expand our national treasures and monuments; and to prioritize both environmental justice and the creation of the well-paying union jobs necessary to deliver on these goals. ” This work will be done using the “best science” thus protecting the “integrity of the Federal decision-making”.

Within 30 days of the date of this order, heads of agencies shall submit to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a preliminary list of any actions being considered … that would be completed by December 31, 2021, and that would be subject to OMB review.  Within 90 days of the date of this order, heads of agencies shall submit to the Director of OMB an updated list of any actions being considered … that would be completed by December 31, 2025, and that would be subject to OMB review. 

… (d) The Attorney General may, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, provide notice of this order and any actions taken … to any court with jurisdiction over pending litigation related to those agency actions identified … and may, in his discretion, request that the court stay or otherwise dispose of litigation, or seek other appropriate relief consistent with this order, until the completion of the processes described in this order.

(e)  In carrying out the actions directed in this section, heads of agencies shall seek input from the public and stakeholders, including State local, Tribal, and territorial officials, scientists, labor unions, environmental advocates, and environmental justice organizations.”

Executive Order on Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis

And… looks like Big Oil continues to suffer losses.

The International Energy Agency on Tuesday cut its 2021 global oil demand forecast, citing soaring Covid-19 cases and renewed lockdown measures that will further limit mobility.”

IEA cuts 2021 oil demand outlook as new Covid lockdowns weigh on fuel sales 1/19/21

Meanwhile, CBS Sunday Morning aired a piece on white middle-class climate refugees. Everyone can perhaps relate to the family from Paradise as each of us faces more potential for a climate disaster happening to us.

Sunday evening, the PBS Newshour spent most of their program on the TRUTH OF THE DANGERS of the Fossil Fuel industry. May Boeve from 350.org (6:20) gave REALLY good coverage of how Line 3 and DAPL are the SAME as KXL. You may recognize the “equivalent to 50 coal plant” reference – same as Line 3! Giving good credit to the Natives who started this work on KXL, and noting the alliance of folks across the board with that pipeline, just like we’re seeing here in Minnesota as more and more gather along the route to protest this bad idea. [10:40 is the focus on Line 3.] Governor Tim Walz is gonna have a hard time as Joe and his own state reps turn against his ongoing collusion with Enbridge to give them a new pipeline corridor through our lovely Indian country.

Later in the episode, it looks like Shell and BP are the places to buy gas? They pushed back on 45’s deregulation… [as they are DOING the improvements already? So those de-regs would favor the losers who weren’t? Thus boosting the part of the industry that is doing the LEAST for reducing GHG emissions.] Listen as the President of Shell gets honest. When Ari presses, Gretchen Watkins maintains. Great close for that show too – on the effect of the pandemic on a family.

And there’s MORE good news in Glick leading the FERC. And, in the spirit of reconciliation, let’s not forget that Trump put this guy there.

“The reason the commission doesn’t authorize construction in the absence in a permit is that it makes no sense to enable a developer to begin digging up land and laying down the pipe when it may be that the subsequent permit is never obtained or it may be that the route of the project has to change because of the conditions associated with the subsequent permit,” Glick said.

Glick has been consistent on that point, but he was joined in opposing Mountain Valley’s request by a commissioner who was sworn in last month, Allison Clements. The commission’s newest member, Mark C. Christie, abstained from voting.”

Federal commission slows Mountain Valley Pipeline Charleston Gazette-Mail 1-20-21

Federal commission slows Mountain Valley Pipeline Charleston Gazette-Mail 1-20-21

Let’s hope they feel that not-yet-recognized Treaty Rights are as important… in issuing an Injunction on the Line 3 project for the 404 Permit.

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I want to close with a bit of a teaser. We got some really good insights today that may indicate we have an advantage over Enbridge in preventing their project from its most dangerous work. I will likely say more about this next week… or in an upcoming EMERGENCY Blog. For now, please keep hope. I know this is hard work and patience is wearing thin as we watch the destruction in our midst.

You know, I always wondered how Hilter happened and after 45, I can see how. I had also always wondered how the Homestead Strike was allowed to happen.

But that was in an era before we could all communicate immediately and widely.

Now it seems DNR, Aitkin County Sheriff Dan Guida, and his Deputies have allowed themselves to become Enbridge’s “Pinkerton” forces. Media has been used in this case as well with most Minnesota papers so beholden to Enbridge half-page ads that they cannot even bring themselves to go outside Enbridge terminology. They refer to this pipeline as a replacement. But this is NOT a RE-PLACEment – indicating in the SAME PLACE – but a RELOCATION of a pipeline. The goal is to secure a new corridor as the Leech Lake leases expire in just 8 years. And they have 6 pipelines to remove by then…

We’re not gonna let them.

Stay Brave.

Time in Days of Corona

Tags

9/11, Compassion, dinosaur, Pendemic, Stephen Jay Gould, Time

It seems like everything is slower than normal… or faster than normal, depending on who you are. Perhaps.

If you’re a retired engineer in the north woods, awaiting some special news, time drags like an eternity, regardless of how much you do. 

Days end as you talk with a friend realizing hazily that it seems two days have passed since this morning, when you happened down to the river to pray and ran into that surprise.

Days seem to have 48 hours instead of 24.  And yet, so little seems to get done. 

All talk. No sense of any progress. 24/7 “news” cycles crowing together in a cacophony of chaos.

Perhaps it’s those currently overwhelmed for whom time seems to race?  As one tends vent tubes, receives new patients, swabs noses, or transports victims of our newest plague, perhaps the time seems to flash by as the end of the day arrives before one is aware… though grief persists around all the lost hours missed with children and lovers.

It feels a prayer for the world is in order in each moment.

Yet we are the gods creating each day here on Mother Earth. We are the ones managing the planet’s infrastructure now, as humans have become their own sort of plague upon the planet… some spewing excessive carbon for glorious lives of ease… while others toil for pennies, hoping to have enough to eat each evening.

It seems us children have gone a bit too far with Mother these days.  She’s hotter than ever about our obstinance – our commitment to fashion and fast, our desires for more.  In our haste, we’ve seemed to have bypassed all the tipping points She tried to provide as warnings.

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The arctic waters no longer cool and the forests are burning with abandon, while floods wipe away dreams and beings perish at ever increasing rates. In the last year humans have reckoned our pending demise as the pandemic dead pile and require disposal. For those who care to heed the signs, evidence is clear.  Losing a “9/11” of American victims each day seems enough, does it not, to make it clear?

So what of those who will not see?  Those in denial? Is it truly all of us?

What is to be done when many among us fail to consider their fellow man?  Those who fly about, not considering the tremendous impacts personal actions have for all others? Those who blast through the fast food bag, throwing it out the window as they speed to work, where they will earn only enough to afford that cheap substitute for nourishment? Those who piss into potable water as many around the world struggle to find clean water to drink?  Will this be the fate of us all as we poison our surroundings to assure we can keep living faster? Giving back far too little in reciprocity to the Mother keeping us alive each day?

What of those so afraid of their loss of perceived power that they’ve allowed their secret plans for insurrection to become real… and revealed?  Will we ever truly know the truth of what has transpired in our government, our agencies, our law enforcement ranks, as the power of money has trumped the power of compassion for our fellows? Will we ever find our ways forward to a place of peace?

Time will tell.  She always does.

Thanks to BrainPickings for these fine graphic additions today.

So Many Levels of Fucked

Tags

45, Christian Identity, Christian Nationalist, Insurrection, Trump

I usually try to make the blog relevant to the happenings of the day. And I like to focus on good things when I can. However, at this point, there is so much HORRIBLE happening, I’m not even sure where to begin. Climate change, the U.S. insurrection and shitty cops, more evidence of the everyday dangers of life in America if you’re Black, COVID, arches of ice holding it all up getting thin?

To assure you are duly warned, LANGUAGE ALERT. Oops. Was that too late? Did the title give too much away? In case it did not, what ensues will be the ramblings on the many levels of how fucked we are. While I typically focus on the Enbridge Line 3 debacle in Northern Minnesota, there is OH SO MUCH OTHER HORRIBLE happening these days, that I will cover a bit of new or strange ground today. For those who’ve been reading a while, nothing too new, no worries. [Though at Book Club Sunday I’m pretty sure they were like, “How do we uninvite the lady who started the Book Club? She’s kinda sounding crazy.” (FYI: I hear ya’. I feel pretty crazy. Isn’t that NORMAL these days?)]

The issue in the Center Ring is the National insanity and, while I heard 45 was banned… is he back? [I swear I did a search for him yesterday and only Don, Jr popped up. 45 used to be @realDonaldTrump as you may recall. Surely this @POTUS account was there too and I missed it?] No activity of late… but maybe this account is managed by… Kayleigh McEnany? Or some other lackey?

Speaking of Kayleigh, it was SHE who – finally, just hours ago, tweeted
that 45 WOULD honor Capital Police with the flag at half staff.

So TWO law enforcement officers had to die for this to happen, one apparently at his own hand and one by skull fracture with a fire extinguisher, and we still see pretty much NOTHING done to those who committed the insurrection? Nothing much anyway. I hear they got the Q Shaman (is this dude serious?), the Arkansasshole, and the podium guy. But many are still at large:

• The duo of 45 and Rudy – who called for the group to march to the Capitol for “Trial by Combat”
• The Capitol Police officers who waved these insurrectionists in toward the Capitol, removing barriers and running away from them as they flowed through the building seeking to reek havoc and “Stop the Steal” [luckily some quick thinkers managed to secure the ballot boxes]
• The Insurrectionists who wandered in as if it was any given Wednesday, rummaging through desks and destroying/stealing government property
• The Republicans who encouraged – even after ALL the chaos – a continued commitment to OBJECTING to the certification of the vote [time to remove them all]

That 45 has been given until 1/11 to resign – like, WHY THE FUCK IS THIS HIS Decision? Remove that motherfucker NOW, eh? – which correlates to the 3% movement’s insignia [as we’ve already heard threats from insurrectionists who acted on 1/6/21 that they would “be back on the eleventh”] should give some rationale for a pause. A requirement that we consider what might be going down today? I mean, after the epic fail at the Capitol, I’d not be surprised by almost anything. Perhaps the police are downplaying it as they have folks staged in all the states to take over? 3% believe the County Sheriff is the highest law of the land and it was disturbing to see Deputies in Olympia, Washington giving law enforcement guarding the governor’s mansion some side-eye as they fist bumped the protestors (who eventually shouted “kill them all”).

The talk that this is “Over Now” – as I heard on On the Media – like, hey, we counted the votes so, all is fine, we’re moving on with Joe! – might be a bit premature. Those who disagree may have other plans [WARNING: that link is a bit creepy, though I think we should ALL be aware there is some portion of our country that feels that way].

45’s delight at the rioters’ response to his command, his complete disregard for what was transpiring, his subsequent submissive speech (obviously given by a clone – see, there’s a reason for everything!), are all reasons for his immediate removal and, to be honest, his commitment to a mental health facility to evaluate his current mental state. At least we get some media folks (FINALLY) speaking to this chaos and asking for accountability? Apparently 56% of us want 45 removed immediately. Regardless, too little has been done, and whatever is done in the end will be too late to allow the U.S. any means of holding authority in the world. We have become the shit-holiest of countries.

I’m not sure what % of his followers are still in love with him (the clone theorists) and what % are finally realizing that he’s never truly given a shit about them at all. But I’m concerned for all of them. For those disillusioned, perhaps suicide will feel an only option. I know how I felt when Bernie wasn’t given the nomination (the first time). It isn’t pretty – discovering of the unfairness and corruption in our government – whether true or imaginary. [I was a late bloomer when it comes to Presidential politics – hadn’t paid nearly enough attention to the Dark Money and Citizens United decisions over the years…] For those still believing in 45, I fear what they can be led to do in the name of “democracy” or “Jesus“.

Christianity is deeply interwoven with many of the ideologies that brought Trump supporters out to the National Mall and into the halls of Congress.

According to Andrew L. Whitehead, co-director of the Association of Religion Data Archives and professor of sociology at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, understanding Christian nationalism is essential to understanding what motivated many of the demonstrators and rioters in Washington.

“I think that [the demonstrators and rioters] believe that God has a specific plan for this country, and that their vision for the country has been given to them by God,” Whitehead said. “Christian nationalism at its core is this desire to see Christianity be privileged in the public sphere.”

The Christianity of Christian nationalism is very narrow and specific, according to Whitehead. It is typically white supremacist, nativist, and authoritarian. Whitehead and his colleagues previously found that adherence to a Christian nationalist ideology was one of the strongest predictors of a Trump vote.”

Sojourners THEY INVADED THE CAPITOL SAYING ‘JESUS IS MY SAVIOR. TRUMP IS MY PRESIDENT’ by GINA CILIBERTO, STEPHANIE RUSSELL-KRAFT 1-6-21

Here’s what Beau had to say… [It’s just a thought… and a good one imagining Trump in Alamo, Texas – so many levels of funny! – just 225 miles away from the actual Alamo. And I’d agree with Beau that, without Twitter, he’ll surely be full of vitriole to spew as soon as he gets in front of his followers; and we should take care to assure the story stays straight. A review of the situation on the 6th by PBS Newshour journalists was quite thorough and I recommend it. Four women journalists: PBS NewsHour’s anchor and managing editor Judy Woodruff talks to correspondents Lisa Desjardins, Amna Nawaz and Yamiche Alcindor.

Meanwhile, in Ring Two, we STILL have a pandemic unfolding!! The country is losing the equivalent of another “9/11” every day… and many still are giving the virus short shrift. We’re too busy talking about the insurrection and getting ‘back to normal’ just as soon as we possibly can!! Yet, since November 1st, Minnesota has lost 3205 citizens to COVID – that’s 57% of our dead in the last 6 weeks. We saw the spiking deaths as Enbridge moved workers into the area. It seems they anticipated Walz and his administration permitting them to flood Northern Minnesota with pipeliners from places like Texas, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, and more. The foreign corporation is now moving at breakneck speed to drill under our rivers as quickly as possible, hoping to eradicate the Minnesota Court of Appeals authority to rule on the legal need for this pipeline. [Ring three could be your choice of: the economy failing, the pending market crash, the death of big oil, climate change, the evictions, food shortages. As all that stuff is interconnected, you eventually get around to all the others!]

But hey, there’s a vaccine! And people are already talking about everything being “over” by summer! [I wouldn’t count those chickens before they hatch.] We’re seeing daily record case counts – equivalent to the population of Cincinnati – and record-breaking death totals, overloaded hospitals, and mutations bringing concerns for more virulent strains.

Many hospitals in Los Angeles and other hard-hit areas are struggling to keep up and warned they may need to ration lifesaving care. Nurses are caring for more sick people than typically allowed under the law after the state began issuing waivers to the strict nurse-to-patient ratios.”

U.S. tops 4,000 daily deaths from coronavirus for 1st time By EUGENE GARCIA, LISA MARIE PANE and THALIA BEATY
January 8, 2021

Nearly 20,000 people in the country have died of Covid in January alone, setting the pace for a month that will likely rival December for the deadliest month yet of the pandemic.”

U.S. reports more than 4,000 Covid deaths for first time as outbreak grows worse than ever 1/8/21

At least on the insurrection front we have The Governator who has spoken clearly on what we saw on the 6th. He recognizes the situation for the disturbing nightmare it truly is… because he’s lived its legacy. Patriotism is standing by the Country, not the President. Indeed, Teddy! Give him a listen – it’s worth a few moments as we face what feels like such a historic moment in time.

And many faith leaders are calling out the insurrectionists. Some with foresight birthed a Christians Against Christian Nationalism petition last summer.

And on the Enbridge front, here’s a bit more good news. [See, I never let you down!!] American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation has reported that they are breaking ties with Enbridge as a sponsor, saying:

We’ve taken pause to reconsider our relationship with Enbridge Energy and have chosen to dissolve our agreement. In hindsight, we realize that this association was perhaps not a clear pathway to engaging conversation in support of education, future change, and ultimately our greater Birkie Green initiatives, nor was it in alignment with our American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation (ABSF) mission. For that, we are sorry. We never intended to cause concern within the Birkie community.”

Guess they finally realized they were being funded by the very source of their demise… thanks to those who helped them.

Good Luck today, Everybody! Let’s hope for the best. [Publishing this early… as I’m a bit concerned about cover of dark operations some insurrectionists might be considering. I mean, they’ve had four whole days to plan deep into the night… so I’m counting on someone planning to do something. Let’s just hope they aren’t as successful as they hope.]

Awaiting Injunction on a Climate Bomb

Tags

404, ACE, Army Corps, Clean Water Act, CWA, Enbridge, Line 3, MN PUC, NEPA, Rivers and Harbors Act, US Army Corps of Engineers, USACE

This weekend, the Star Tribune re-printed Louise Erdrich’s December 28th NY Times piece where she shared thoughts on her recent visit to the proposed crossing of Enbridge’s Line 3 at the Mississippi River near Palisade, MN. We live near the first proposed crossing, in the LaSalle Valley near Alida, Minnesota, where taxpayers spent millions to purchase and restore the land after Jack Pine blowdowns. Tim Walz and his administration have given Enbridge a green light for this unnecessary tar sands pipeline project… and we watch as Water Protectors remain, standing in the way of this horrible idea.

At 9 minutes in, you can see how close Enbridge is to drilling under the Mississippi River. Thankfully the holiday festive Letters of Unusual Size (LOUs!) are being held as a blockade by committed Water Protectors standing in their way.
12-31-20 Drone footage by Move for Justice News

In November, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s administration signed off on final water permits for Enbridge to complete an expansion of its Line 3 pipeline. … Lawsuits — including one by the White Earth and Red Lake nations and several environmental organizations, and another by the Mille Lacs Nation — are pending. But construction has already started.

This has been a brutal year for Indigenous people, who have suffered nearly double the COVID-19 mortality rate of white Americans. … Nevertheless, tribal people worked hard on the elections. The Native vote became a force that helped carry several key areas of the country and our state.

On the heels of those victories, the granting of final permits to construct Enbridge’s Line 3, which will cross Anishinaabe treaty lands, was a breathtaking betrayal. The Land of 10,000 Lakes is already suffering from climate change. Yet Minnesota’s pollution control and public utility agencies refused to take the future of our lakes into account, or to consider treaty rights, in granting permits.

This is not just another pipeline. It is a tar sands climate bomb; if completed, it will facilitate the production of crude oil for decades to come. …

The state’s environmental impact assessment of the project found the pipeline’s carbon output could be 193 million tons per year. That’s the equivalent of 50 coal-fired power plants or 38 million vehicles on our roads, according to Jim Doyle, a physicist at Macalester College who helped write a report from the climate action organization MN350 about the pipeline. He observed that the pipeline’s greenhouse gas emissions are greater than the yearly output of the entire state.

If the pipeline is built, Minnesotans could turn off everything in the state, stop traveling and still not come close to meeting the state’s emission reduction goals. …

And if the pipelines were to leak, the sludgy mixture is almost impossible to clean up. The state’s environmental impact statement notes that the pipeline will run through two watersheds that drain into Lake Superior. Any spill in the vicinity of the Great Lakes, which contain 84% of North America’s available freshwater, is an existential threat to our water supply. …

“There is nowhere worse on earth to have an oil sands pipeline system than the Great Lakes region,” says Rachel Havrelock, the founder of the University of Illinois Freshwater Lab. “It is, everything else aside, the world’s worst planning.”

The thing is, there was no plan. There is no plan. It’s clear to me that with the Keystone XL Pipeline on hold and Line 5 challenged in Michigan, Enbridge is building as fast as it can to lock in pipeline infrastructure before regulatory agencies and governments institute rules on climate change.

Global financial institutions have been realizing the environmental cost of the fossil fuel industry. Last year, Moody’s downgraded Alberta’s creditworthiness to its lowest level in 20 years, citing (among other issues) the province’s reliance on oil sands. Black Rock, HSBC, Deutsche Bank and many other global financial institutions have taken steps to divest from fossil fuels.

But instead of pulling back their production levels, many oil sands companies, with the support of Canadian banks, doubled down, producing a surplus. These Canada-based corporations are perpetrating a vast ecological crime, and Minnesota is their accomplice. But we could cross over to something better. Tar sands do not have to flow through this pipeline. The rivers can heal, the great scars gouged into the wetlands regenerate.

Excerpts from Louise Erdrich’s NY Times piece on Line 3 December 28, 2020 (reprinted by Strib 1/3/21 (my emphasis)

Let’s look now at the Earthjustice filing in Federal Court, challenging the 404 Permit granted by the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). [And I should clarify that as a non-lawyer, I’m not sure my § is used correctly but I use it to refer to the sections of the Complaint filing. It would have been INSANE reading if I’d used “at” instead…]

The Complaint begins with a review of the situation detailing the proposed pipeline, noting that “Although the Corps purports to find that the Project will have no significant
impact on the environment”, construction and operation would have significant impacts (§ 8) clarifying in § 9:

Construction would require clearcutting vegetation from a 50 foot-wide permanent right-of-way and a 95- to 125-foot temporary construction right-of-way for the entire route of the Project; excavation of a minimum 7 foot-deep trench; stockpiling of removed soils; transportation of approximately 60 foot-long, 36-inch diameter pipe segments to the trench; welding the pipe segments into a continuous pipeline; re-filling of the trench; and construction of ancillary facilities, including pump stations, valves, electrical substations, access roads, horizontal directional drilled waterbody crossings, cathodic protection equipment, and communications facilities. These activities also would utilize a substantial amount of heavy equipment that will produce noise and air emissions, damage roads, and compact soils. These construction-related activities alone make the Corps’ finding of no significant impact indefensible.”

Earthjustice 404 Complaint filing p. 3

Ignoring concerns like impacts to drinking water quality, among other things, the Complaint challenges that the USACE improperly decided to NOT prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (§ 11), which also fails to meet the requirements of NEPA (National Environmental Protection Act) that requires the USACE to take a hard look at impacts, again rendering the approvals unlawful (§ 12). Along with this failure, the USACE also failed to evaluate impacts of construction to meet Clean Water Act 404 and evaluate alternatives that would be less environmentally damaging (§ 13), whether the pipeline is in the public interest (§ 14), thus making the USACE approval of the 404 “arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law; in excess of statutory jurisdiction, authority, or limitations, or short of statutory right; and without observance of procedure required by law in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”), NEPA, the CWA, and the Corps’ own permit regulations” (§ 14). They ask that the project be vacated and that construction be enjoined. [This last word means they would prohibit the Project with an injunction.]

Next follows a review of the Jurisdiction and Venue and information on the Parties: Red Lake Band of the Chippewa (§ 18-22), White Earth (§ 23-30, Honor The Earth (§ 32), Sierra Club (§ 33-34). The USACE is noted as Defendant (§ 36).

The next sections cover the Statutory and Regulatory Background, starting with NEPA (§ 37-63) which requires a “hard look” at environmental consequences prior to taking major action… which the Line 3 project CLEARLY is. A deep dive of the process required of the USACE in permitting approvals ensues, noting the Environmental Assessment (EA) done by the USACE was insufficient, as proper review of the factors – that regulations require -warranted an EIS, which “must include a ‘range of actions, alternatives, and impacts.’” per 40 C.F.R. § 1508.25, including, I’ll note, a “No Action alternative” (b1). § 51 notes that impacts of GHG emissions on climate change is one of the cumulative impacts analysis NEPA requires… and one the USACE failed to do. Precedent also says that NEPA analysis requires that oil spill risks and impacts be completed (§ 56) and requires analysis of cultural resource impacts (§ 57).

Next up for review is the Clean Water Act (CWA; § 64-75), which regulates discharges of pollutants in the waters of the United States and quality standards for surface waters and requires the USACE to permit only after taking “all appropriate and practicable steps to avoid and minimize adverse impacts to waters of the United States.” 40 C.F.R. § 230.91(c)(2) First, the CWA says that the USACE may not issue a 404 permit “if there is a ‘practicable alternative’ to the project with less impact” (§ 69) and that there must be a definition of the project’s overall purpose. Furthermore, if a project is not water dependent, the Corps “must presume that a practicable alternative that does not involve a special aquatic site is available and will have less adverse environmental impact on the site and its ecosystem.” If this is the case, the “applicant must rebut the presumption with detailed, clear, and convincing information proving that a less adverse practicable alternative is not available.” (§ 70) Second, the Corps cannot permit if the project could result in discharge that adversely impacts U.S. waters (§ 73), and that, if no less damaging alternative is available, the applicant is required to show all steps that would minimize potential adverse impacts. (§ 74) Finally, the USACE “must independently verify all the information in the permit application.” (§ 75)

The Rivers and Harbors Act (RHA) (§76-81), our “nation’s oldest environmental law”, covers prohibitions for actions that impair navigable waters. The USACE approval of the Section 408 permit requires predetermination that “the use or occupation at issue will not be injurious to the public interest” (§ 80) and is subject to NEPA (§ 81).

Next are the USACE’s own Permitting Regulations (§ 82-88). Here, the Complaint charges that the USACE must assure the project is in the “public interest” (§ 82) after evaluating “probable impacts, including cumulative impacts, of the proposed activity and its intended use on the public interest”, (§ 83) balancing benefits against “reasonably foreseeable detriments”, (§ 84) including consideration of effects “on historic, cultural, scenic, and recreational values, including Indian religious or cultural sites.” (§85) The District Engineer is to make an independent review of need based on public interest, (§ 86) and must “independently verify the information submitted by the permit applicant” (§ 87).

With regard to Treaty Rights and Federal Government Trust Obligations (§ 89-105), the Complaint makes clear the history of US treaties with the Chippewa – giving a good read to educate yourself on this history – and explaining that Native People’s usufructuary rights (to hunt, fish, and gather) are just as critical to their continued existence as “the atmosphere they breathed”. Of special note are § 96 “Treaties are ‘the supreme Law of the Land.’ U.S. Const. art. VI, cl. 2.” and § 98 “The federal government, including federal agencies, cannot abrogate treaty rights without specific and clearly expressed Congressional authorization.” This section also notes the courts deference to the Indians in settling matters of Treaty Law (§ 99) and that the USACE “is responsible for ensuring treaty rights are given full effect and not abrogated or impinged upon by agency actions absent an act of Congress.” (§ 100) There is special mention of the Winter’s Doctrine (§ 101) which protects Tribes’ uses of their water. [I won’t go into it again here, but this is CRITICAL, as noted in a previous blog on the MEQB and their erroneous approval of the Minnesota 2020 Water Plan.] § 105 mentions the requirements of the “The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, endorsed by the United States in 2011” requiring good faith consultation with Indigenous Peoples to assure free and informed prior consent – which doesn’t seem to have happened… as multiple Tribes are suing for a Stay on the Line 3 project.

The portion on Environmental Justice references Executive Order 12898 noting the 1994 effort, enacted under President Clinton and still in effect, to identify and address adverse effect of programs, policies, and activities on minority and low-income populations, which indicates agencies, under NEPA, require a “hard look” at EJ issues. (§ 106-108)

The Factual Allegations notes (§ 109-111): Enbridge submitted a permit application on 9/21/18 (Section 404 of CWA, Section 10 of RHA, Section 14 of RHA) for their project and in January 2020 supplied updated materials, for which the USACE has sole pre-construction permitting authority and which must comply with NEPA.

The Project is described (§112-127), including a history of current Line 3 and noting the differences that this “replacement” project would include (basically making it a NEW and DIFFERENT pipeline than current Line 3, not a replacement). The route and capacity, as well as the transported substance are each explained showing this project is an EXPANSION which includes new facilities (§ 117): “including eight pump stations (four adjacent to existing pump stations and four at new locations), electric transmission lines, access roads, and 37 mainline valves. Enbridge also proposes to expand the Clearbrook Terminal.” § 121 explains the wetland conversions proposed which would cause “loss of critical wetland functions, including decrease in above-ground biomass; loss of forest interior habitat; decrease in structural diversity; loss of visual screening and aural screening from human activity; decrease in local climate amelioration; loss of evergreen winter cover for wildlife; loss of habitat for shade-tolerant or shade-loving plants; loss of wildlife food sources (e.g., acorns); and increase in and replacement of native plants by invasive and exotic plant species.” Also mentioned are Fond du Lac impact (§ 122), wetlands and the Mississippi Headwaters region (§ 123), calcareous fen wetlands – highly susceptible to disturbance and thus more protected by Minnesota law (§ 124), groundwater resources (§125), the “Straight River Basin, an important Minnesota aquifer (§ 126), and wild rice beds (§127).

Regarding the Permit Application (§ 128-138), the Complaint charges that Enbridge’s permit application “largely consists of generic and conclusory statements that do not provide the information the Corps must have to evaluate the Project”, which precluded meaningful public comment on 404 compliance, and ignored the “numerous alternatives”, such as upgrades to other pipeline systems (which they have already done based on Enbridge’s reported shipments since 2016) or repair and replacement of the current Line 3 pipeline. Enbridge has not shown that these alternatives are not practicable though, in fact, some would be cheaper. There is also no explanation for Enbridge’s insistence on their preferred route, though many alternative routes are evidenced to be “less environmentally damaging”. The Complaint notes that Enbridge plans to use HDD (horizontal directional drilling, which most avoids impacts and limits vegetation disturbance) at only 21 of the 227 water crossings, “based on inadequately conducted wetland delineation surveys.” It also mentions the risk associated with HDD for “frac-out… when pressurized fluids and drilling lubricants escape the active bore,” which the Corps did not consider a threat.

The issuance of the USACE permit (§139 -162), referenced a November 2020 Environmental Protection Plan, which was not publicly available at the time of the Complaint’s filing (Christmas Eve 2020). In addition, the USACE issuance of the Section 408 authorization for the Lost River, Minnesota Flood Control Project was made in reliance on information Enbridge provided in its 9/21/18 application. (§ 141) [So no independent review… WTF?] The USACE also failed to make public the documents used to determine their decision – “a combined Environmental Assessment, Section 404(b)(1) Guidelines Evaluation, Public Interest Review, and Statement of Findings for the Project (“Decision Document”)”, indeed refusing “to make them public except pursuant to a request made under the Freedom of Information Act” (FOIA), even though their own internal policies provide that Tribes not be required to seek such documents via FOIA. When these documents were provided to fulfill Sierra Club’s FOIA request, “the Corps indicated that it is still reviewing documents for potential redactions and will provide those documents at a later date.” (§ 142) [Yet construction continues in Minnesota at present time. TO WHOM do we turn for ACCOUNTABILITY?]

So, huh? Does this mean Enbridge WON’T make permanent impacts?
Who has access to this November 2020 EPP? Not the public, it seems.

The Corps goes so far as to state in their Permit (§ 143):

So, the Corps has NOT independently verified the Applicant’s information? (p.7)
But reserves the right to rescind the permit when and if they do?
Cart before the horse maybe?

The Decision Document shows the USACE failed to:

• Perform environmental analysis where they thought they lacked “sufficient control and responsibility to expand its analysis” [what does this even mean exactly?] (§ 144)
• Include in their scope “the entire pipeline construction, or operation” again noting their lack of sufficient control and responsibility [Who the hell HAS THE CONTROL AND RESPONSIBILITY if not the USACE, FFS?] (§ 145)
• “evaluate the direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts of the Project… instead (limiting) … scope of its analysis to segments of the pipeline over which the Corps determined it has control and responsibility.” [Again, why would it NOT have control and responsibility as the SOLE Federal Agency issuing pre-construction permits?] (§ 146)
• “analyze or provide any evidence that the construction method Enbridge plans to use at each water crossing location will be sufficiently protective.” (§ 147)
• “consider the Project’s impacts on wetlands that are hydrologically connected to trout streams, wild rice, lakes, and other protected waters of high or outstanding biological significance (§ 148)
• “evaluate the Project’s potential to result in oil spills” or “analyze whether Enbridge has measures in place to adequately guard against or respond to such spills (§ 149)
• Account for GHG emissions of the Project, noting reliance on the “State EIS” for this analysis (which the PUC ignored). (§ 152)
• Evaluate cumulative impacts of the Project (§ 153)
• Evaluate social costs of climate impacts of the project (§ 155)
• Evaluate the infringement on Treaty Rights, specifically usufructuary rights ( 156)
• “consider the impact of an oil spill on the Tribes’ rights to hunt, fish, and gather and to clean water.” (§ 160)

The Decision Document states on Environmental Justice: “Based on information available to the Corps, including the information provided in the State EIS, as well as the details of the Project that is within the Corps’ regulatory authority, the Project would not have disproportionately high and adverse impacts to minority populations.” (my emphasis) Yet the ‘State EIS’ acknowledged:

The EJ analysis indicates that American Indian populations residing in the census tracts noted in Table 11.3 will experience disproportionately high and adverse impacts. As described in Chapter 9 of this EIS, the intensity of impacts felt by American Indian populations will be greater than depicted by quantitative analysis alone because of their cultural and spiritual relationship with the natural environment.”

State EIS, Chapter 11 Environmental Justice (p. 17) (my emphasis)

Next the Complaint discusses Risk of Oil Spills (§ 163-173). Perhaps most striking was this: “Effective clean-up methods simply do not yet exist and may never exist for the type of oil that Enbridge plans to transport in large quantities through the Line 3 pipeline.” [So, if we DO get a spill, we got FUCK ALL for cleanup.] Following is a summary of tar sand properties and the risks associated with spill using the 2010 Enbridge catastrophe in Kalamazoo as example where cleanup costs exceeded $1B and required “more than 2000 personnel, over 150,000 feet of boom, 175 heavy spill response trucks, 43 boats, and 48 oil skimmers.” There is also reference to the millions of dollars in Minnesota tourism revenue that are risked with a spill, noting the Corps failed to account for these economic losses in their permit decision, as they did not consider oil spill risks associated with the Project.

On Climate Impacts (§ 174-182), the Complaint shares the current threats of climate change and Minnesota’s disproportionate experience with average temperature, noting:

Every county in Minnesota is experiencing more climate-related stresses: extreme storms, flash floods, excessive heat, and droughts. Lake Superior has warmed substantially and Great Lake ice cover has dropped precipitously.”

The Complaint, Section V Climate Impacts (§ 175)

As tar sands oil production generates almost triple the warming pollution of conventional crude – and the Complaint describes the extraction process for our edification – there is a causal connection between the Project and increased GHG emissions. While the USACE has studies that estimate the well-to-wheel GHG emissions for tar sands crude, and the “social cost of carbon” is commonly used by government agencies to evaluate projects, the USACE “failed to consider information showing that approval of the Project will result in hundreds of billions of dollars in social costs.” (§ 182)

There are four main areas of relief sought with this complaint:

1. Find the USACE in violation of the law WRT a failure to “Adequately Consider the Direct, Indirect and Cumulative Impacts of Its Permit Action Violated the National Environmental Policy Act and the Administrative Procedure Act” (§ 183-195) as they: unlawfully segmented NEPA by not including the segments of the Project outside Minnesota; failed to evaluate risks and impacts of oil spills; failed to factor in the significant difference between conventional and tar sands crude; failed to analyze the threats of crossing methods (i.e., frac-outs during HDD), failed to analyze alternatives; failed to quantify cumulative and incremental effects of climate change; failed to assess the impacts of approval on Tribal Treaty Rights; and restricted the scope of review (giving no explanation of its analysis and failing to provide rational EJ review).
2. Find the USACE “acted arbitrarily, capriciously, and contrary to the evidence before it, in violation of NEPA and contrary to the APA, 5 U.S.C. §§ 706(2)(A), (D), in failing to prepare a full EIS on the Project” (§ 196-203) though the Project would involve extensive environmental impacts, crossing 78.3 linear miles of wetlands, and impacting lands where Tribes retain usufructuary rights.
3. Find the USACE violated Clean Water Act § 404 and the Administrative Procedure Act (§ 204-210) in its failure to: conduct an alternatives analysis, including those that are practicable and less environmentally harmful to fulfill the Project’s purpose; assess any off-site alternatives and limiting to the route corridor designated by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission; or independently verify information necessary to determine the least damaging alternative.
4. Find the USACE acted arbitrarily and capriciously in failing to undertake a lawful and rational public interest review of the actions authorized by the Permit (§ 211-217) as required by its own governing regulations. Specifically, “The Corps’ public interest review unlawfully limited the scope of its consideration of detrimental effects to water impacts associated with construction of the Project, even though the Corps considered beneficial effects beyond the construction, such as “services provided not related to the Project” and benefits to others in the United States who would use the products of crude oil transported by the pipeline. Decision Document at 48.”

So mote it be. ASAP.