Great work by ALL our ALLIES for sharing online and talking to everyone they know… about the horror of Enbridge’s Line 93 (Line 3 Replacement pipeline) Construction. We are NOW the TOP STORY on MPR’s home page!!
I particularly like #4 in his list… of a new vision:
A New Conception of Progress
Here is what that new story and new conception of progress might look like:
☆ Real security comes not through control, but from relationship and belonging.
☆ Nature has a fundamental tendency toward complexity and wholeness. Our destiny is to participate in the coming alive of the cosmos, to be part of the unfolding of complexity and beauty into new domains.
☆ Now is the time to turn the technologies of control toward a new purpose: to serve life and beauty on earth. That starts with healing the damage we have done.
☆ No technology is inevitable. We have the power to collectively choose how we will develop. We can choose technologies that conform to our emerging values of beauty and life.
☆ More is not necessarily better, because reality will always escape the primal cognitive technologies of control called labeling and measuring. In the future, we learn the limits of quantitative reasoning, and turn our main energies toward qualitative enrichment.
☆ Life and earth are sacred. When we reduce them to a finite value, we commit sacrilege. All resources of the earth are therefore meant for sacred use. When we use them, we always ask whether this will contribute to more beauty, more love, more wonder, and more life.
☆ Labor is also sacred; meaningful labor is necessary for human well-being. Therefore, technology should seek not to replace it, but to extend its creative powers.
☆ Because we humans are not the sole possessors of intelligence, order, and purpose, we can achieve much more by allying ourselves with an intelligence larger than ourselves than we can relying on our own power to control the world through force.
Portion of the Charles Eisenstein list on A New Conception of Progress from his essay “Reinventing Progress“
Comment Exchange:
alwayscurious Apr 22 This is very thoughtful, optimistic and spiritual. However, as Aquinas would say, you can’t have good without evil, as you can’t have light without darkness. Control is more than a need to connect, it is fundamental to narcissism and psychopathy.
Comment on Charles Eisenstein posting on Reinventing Progress (this is the link to an audio version)
My reply:
I LOVE your name! I too am always curious… Agree on your closing [“Control is more than a need to connect, it is fundamental to narcissism and psychopathy.”], as I’ve been learning MUCH about narcissism in recent days. Excellent point. Though on Aquinas’ point, it feels to me like there is black in white and white in black – as is shown in the Tao. I see the “evil” in me – the fear-based pull for control. Though I also see it’s far more engaging and enlightening to work within my community to allow what is… which I call “good”… as I work to make minimal negative impact on those around me. Not easy work!! We can’t understand light without knowing darkness. This is true? As far as I can see. Though I am working to understand that There is No Bad. What is IS. And what I learn from this is my journey. May your journey be blessed.
i urge you to consider what progress means to you.
Is it the “convenience” items that make your life easier, faster, more full?
Or do you long for a progress that makes life more beautiful, delicious and connected?
Is satisfaction found in a “Happy” Meal? Or the PB&J made with homemade jam, from berries picked in the local wood and peanut butter made fresh at the local co-op?
Is convenience delivered in tiny plastic cups and Styrofoam packaging? Or is that packaging actually what is making it harder to breathe each day? Not being able to breathe isn’t very convenient, is it?
Do you find joy in racing to and fro to practice, lessons, games, and the all-important shopping? Or is joy found in the walk around the block, greeting neighbors and discovering a new tree or bug or flower friend?
Progress is what we call “forward movement toward a destination”.
I told Doc I’d send him something so if you can get this to him, it’s much appreciated. This song – Inches & Miles – is one of my faves and it came to mind during my numbing shot.
We were also talking about the damages done by Enbridge during their construction up here and how extensive it is and how the public is largely ignorant of the impacts – as Enbridge, with the apparent help of MN agencies, has worked hard to assure. Thought I’d send more info in case other questions arise or you wanna share info with folks there. [And… it turned into a novel… Take what you like and leave the rest! I been doing this too long. And… trigger warning: There are references below to some of the human impacts to women that are not easy reading.]
PLUS… Y’all may not realize it (as there is a lot of “behind the scenes secret stuff” in infrastructure work!!) yet the newest threat in southern Minnesota is CO2 pipelines. WAY MORE DANGEROUS than these tar sands pipelines – far more risks for citizen fatalities. I know CURE is working on this issue in case it affects any of your folks. [I heard Friday that State Farm is REFUSING to insure farmers who have CO2 pipelines in their land… so, THAT’S how dangerous they are.]
Anyhow… back to the ongoing horror of Enbridge up here in Lake Country.
Y’all saw the front page Strib piece last Tuesday on DNR finally reporting on the THREE aquifers Enbridge destroyed – bleeding our landscape dry in a year of already historic drought. Two breaches are within 8 and 25 miles of me; the third is near a friend’s house on Nagaajiwanaang / Fond du Lac Reservation (the breach is just off Reservation land). So many suffered here this summer. Wells drying up… So many who had to truck in water… Well, that’s just PART of the story.
And the worst on these aquifer breaches is that Paul Stolen, retired MNDNR, PREDICTED the troubles in LaSalle Valley – as he’d been on a PREVIOUS FRAC-OUT FAILURE… (see page 40 in the link; photos below). This testimony was from November 19, 2014. Six years before construction began.
Enbridge has worked very hard, spending millions, to assure most Minnesotans have no idea what they’re up to in Indian Country.
They talked of all the jobs they were going to bring, promising us locals HALF of them, then only delivering (MAYBE) 30% of the jobs to Minnesotans. Maybe… We don’t know. Seems Enbridge stopped reporting Minnesota jobs after their first dismal reporting on their numbers in Q4-2020.
“The PUC should have treated the Line 3 permits like a contract: “We will give you permission to build this pipeline under these conditions. If you fail to meet those conditions, then there are consequences.” It could be a $10 million fine, permit revocation, something to make sure that Minnesota got some meager benefit from this unnecessary pipeline.”
The main concern I’m facing at present are the impacts of Horizontal Directional Drilling frac-outs that happened during construction last summer. It seems these fluids may remain in our landscape and we see citizens monitoring water crossings – as MN agencies are largely unresponsive to the risks, parroting Enbridge talking points to assure all is well.
These are water samples taken March 1st in the Mississippi Headwaters a couple miles from my house (yeah, that’s my hand). The background of these photos is the Mississippi River Valley along Great River Road in Clearwater County, just a few miles north of the Headwaters crossing in Itasca State Park – as the crow flies. You can read more about this sampling in this FB Post from Indigenous Environmental Network or my blog: Minnesota Water Protectors: Now Working to save Wisconsin and Michigan Waters You can read more about the Aquifer issues in: My Birthday Blog Post… to the US Army Corps
Test Samples from Mississippi Headwaters in Clearwater County
Enbridge said in their Line 3 application to Minnesota there was a “Potential for inadvertent release of drilling fluids” and continued through the permitting process to submit evidence that the risk was “Low” at rivers like Mississippi.
Enbridge’s own documents (full of mis-statements and deception) point to the MPCA… “• According to the MPCA, release of drilling fluid is not unexpected.” {suddently they’re the experts on HDD???} instead of giving you the truth… which Enbridge knows… that frac-outs are common and expected.
Yet, even, prior to construction – during the boring process – samples taken to determine the geology of the route made clear that spills of drilling mud were common. That is not a LOW risk… but appears to be an assurance frac-outs would occur during HDD for the pipeline.
Slide from an HDD presentation by a MN Geologist to state agencies and lawmakers ~ December 10, 2021
Imagine the increase in losses for, not a small diameter boring hole but a 36″ diameter pipeline drilling 60′ below Mississippi… Now you have an idea of what is “potentially” in our landscape at the Headwaters in the aftermath of Enbridge.
And, moving to the clear human impacts here along the Corridor, from those faced by local citizens… to Indigenous women, who face a 10X higher risk of assault, including rape.
This story covers the frac-out experience from the perspective of a friend of mine who I refer to as “the lady at the second Mississippi crossing” while I’m the “lady” at the first. She lives on land at the crossing near Palisade, MN. Her family has been here for generations.
I personally know dozens of women who have been brutalized along this construction route. Maybe the most disturbing case to hit the public news was a woman who was raped in Bemidji outside a bar. The rapist was released on bail and… when they sent his trial notice, it came back from Idaho undeliverable. So he’s still out there somewhere. This is Enbridgeland.
The most disturbing story shared to me was of a friend brutally beaten and raped with chunks of her hair being torn from her scalp. She’s Native though. So we’ll likely never see justice for the men who raped and beat her. It’s a different system of justice for Native women than white women up here. This is why you may be familiar with the term MMIW, as, in recent years, Minnesota has finally created an office to deal with Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.
Sorry if this is too much. My own marriage is struggling and this feels largely due to the trauma imposed by the Enbridge pipeline in our backyard. The treads on the timber matting road sound like military tanks rolling through… and the devastation they leave is worse than that feeling. My life has been consumed by working to protect the land and water, and Dan has struggled to watch as he’s unable to stop the attacks on women and the devastation to the land. It’s hard for a man in this country to live with being unable to protect those he loves. It seems to be destroying him. It’s devastated us both.
Adding Covid to the mix didn’t help. Enbridge rejoiced as they were able to work largely unimpeded or unseen by locals, who were locked down in their homes while Enbridge workers ran amok. […all except that crazy lady in her back yard who filmed most of their work there!]
Our covid case counts and deaths along the corridor were higher than necessary because the state of Minnesota would not consider the pipeline work to be unnecessary – and delay it until after the pandemic surge. Thousands of pipeline workers from places like Texas, Oklahoma, Montana, Michigan, North Dakota, Idaho, Arkansas… converged on Minnesota likely hurting our overall Covid performance and bringing more death locally. How much lower could these middle and third waves have been – as they correlate to the times Enbridge came (October-2021 through March-2021 & June-2021 thru October-2021).
Many felt this was another piece of the genocide as Natives were at far higher risk for Coronavirus and this pipeline runs straight through the heart of Indian Country.
Though you all know the horrors of Covid far better than I do. Dealing with infrastructure changes like plastic panels was the least of it I’m guessing. Figuring out how to do your work – IN PPL’S MOUTHS, no less! WOW. More though, I’m guessing, was the living in fear each day as you wondered if you’d be exposed… get really sick… or, worse, carry the disease to someone you love. This has been a horror of wondering and waiting… and it feels we’re all still recovering – maybe we will be for years yet?
I know I missed most of that foregoing my cleanings for so long. And my teeth suffered, though perhaps more from the trauma of living in a pipeline construction zone, being rumbled from bed by heavy equipment day after day, watching them clear cut the forest you love. That trauma has been key in my own physical deterioration. I can only imagine how hard it’s been for those less fortunate than us.
Not sure if you realized but one of the original corridors of consideration for Enbridge’s Line 3 replacement pipeline was along I-94. Could have brought those promised “Minnesota jobs” to Alexandrians… so I guess you guys lucked out on that one? Cold comfort when you come here and see the impacts. Thousands of trees have been culled from the landscape. I’ve heard from ppl along the corridor that their vacationing/cabin neighbors and visitors to Lake Country have been pretty astounded to see some of the changes. And we still have equipment present near Fond du Lac.
Thanks again for all your good work. You guys Suck the Best!! ;D This eyetooth is still a bit sensitive this morning so I’ll keep an eye on it. Maybe that’s normal for a few days? Looking forward to seeing y’all again in May. And if anyone you know is interested, send my info to them as I’m always glad to help educate people about what Enbridge and other polluters are working to bring to Minnesota.
Huber Frontier Mill in Cohasset seems the next big unnecessary debacle… a new OSB plant built a few miles down the road from an existing OSB plant that’s closing… again, screwing over the Native Nations in our fair state (the tree take circle includes most of the Reservation lands here). And… wait for it… MN taxpayers forking over $80M to help it happen!
This time, the decision was made – not by a state agency but a CITY COUNCIL – with NO Environmental Impact Statement! AND without public input allowed at the vote… though MANY had shown up to have their voices heard that day! WTF? There goes our Democracy???
It’s really getting scary how government is working to sell off our state resources as fast as they can… this time, more of our Tree Nation.
I’ll end with another of my favorite Heywood Banks selections… this one is pretty appropriate for the above rantings?
As the second decade of the new millennium began, there were many who succumbed.
They died of broken hearts.
They were let down over and over again. They were lied to repeatedly.
They were beaten into broken-heartedness… and many took their own lives.
The systems didn’t track loneliness… or happiness, for that matter. Only dollars. Earned and spent.
While the dollars rolled up, faster and faster to those at the top… those overlooked by the system suffered… more and more.
The irony is that this system depended on these whom it had let down so many times over the years. So the system itself began to fail.
Eventually, after the protests in the streets, the bridge blockades, and fights for rights, enough of us backed down, again and again… that the government – aligning the millionaires inside and outside Congress… and joining with the financial backing of their good friends at the Corps(e) [Corporations Kill, eh?] – realized they could get away with just about anything!
That swearing in of Kavanaugh to the SCOTUS… on a Saturday afternoon?!? That was just another day in Absurdia as the leaders of Whitelandia doubled down. Other things to come included:
Union workers who sacrificed by taking pay cuts to save the company… forced, years later, when profitability had returned, to STRIKE to restore their pay. And still there was no national requirement to pay workers a living wage… as inflation soared. Only a minimum wage… which had been stagnant for decades.
Healthcare workers, revered as heroes during the worst of the pandemic, were worked to death, literally. As wealthy CEOs raked in the millions of taxpayer dollars coming their way for “care” and EUA vaccines, neither of which found the wealthy held accountable for any shortcomings.
Young people watched as older generations continued their luxurious lives of travel and flying to this place and that, vacationing!! …as they themselves pondered that having children of their own would be out of the question for their generation. There simply didn’t appear to be enough resources remaining… not enough to hold any hope for a positive future.
Meanwhile, in political circles, 80+ year-old Nancy Pelosi (then Speaker of the House) and nearly 80-year-old President Joe Biden both announced they would run again, stealing any chance of power from transferring to the next generation. Not in time to save the planet anyway.
The media had been brought into the fold in years prior, so the citizenry barely recognized the programming they were being fed. It all seemed so reasonable and hopeful, always HOPE FILLED NEWS! [Always END with a story about puppies… or a 15-year-old kid who made a new ‘green’ tech that astounds!] The media fed the pipe dreams the rich and powerful sold to the masses… to keep them hoping that they would soon join the rich and famous… and have all they have!
But this pipe dream became more and more clearly a dream… and not a reality. A dream sold to placate the masses to continue their days as cogs in the machine… to keep production high (and wages low!) and eat up resources to make all those things that promised to make life grand! [But only for those who could afford them.]
As more and more lost the needed resources to stay fed, housed, clothed, and cared for… they moved back to the land… as they had no other option. Whether going far into the woods or setting up camp in the park as a last resort, these refugees found varying degrees of success [usually related to their starting points – along with the color of their skin (sadly, also related to where each might have started) – and the amount of available resourcesat that point when they left the “system”.]
Those who lost relationship with their human relatives often found solace in nature, a welcoming challenge that was fair, not put out of balance by rules that upended logic, laws that no longer protected ‘The People’. The forest gave freely to all who searched for mushrooms, roots, plants, and meat.
Only those who began to live in reciprocity with the Earth – which had always provided everything on which they relied – were able to survive. Only by living within the caring carrying capacity of Her bounds, were they able to begin again, remembering the broken-hearted, who’d been unable to find their way to sanity… and safety.
Today’s blog focuses on the feedback I gave recently to the MN Climate Subcabinet’s Climate Action Framework document on which they are seeking input through tomorrow. [No pressure! Though if you want to send an email, you can address it to: climate.mn@state.mn.us – though if you look at their page asking for feedback, there’s no deadline listed… and… no date of issue! That’s how MN rolls! The 2/1/22 notice I saw on this work noted: The Climate Change Subcabinet will release a final Climate Action Framework in mid-2022. ] [NOTE: Email Address corrected 2/15/22.]
Before I could comment on the Framework documents, I needed to educate myself on their congratulatory notice of MN successes, so there is some coverage of the “ECO” Act of 2021 as well.
Good day, Climate Subcabinet. Thanks for requesting input from Minnesotans. [Here’s to hoping they actually READ IT!!]
Just to begin, I’d ask the obvious question that is on the minds of thousands of Minnesotans:
HOW can MN say we’re making progress on Climate after allowing Enbridge to RUSH AND INSTALL its Line 3 Tar Sands Pipeline Relocation and Expansion project as the Fossil Fuel Industry faces tremendous controversy as it approaches its demise?
This recent experience, including the YEARS LONG Public Opposition, which was largely ignored by the Walz Administration, seems to show the blindness Minnesota has with regard to the urgency and direction we need to move in order to protect biodiversity and place for continued human existence here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.
The only accomplishment Walz can seemingly claim for his work on improving climate change is still years down the road from realizing true benefits… and will also bring FURTHER DEVASTATION to MINNESOTA as the Clean Cars work seems reliant on MINING northern Minnesota to oblivion to become the reality some envision.
As I read this “Climate Action Framework”, SO MANY QUESTIONS come to mind.
Like… Why did the News Release on the ECO Act NOT include a LINK to the Act, for ready access to the details? Are you embarrassed at how MUCH this act provides to corporations that continue to eat away Minnesota’s rich – but quickly being decimated – Natural Resources? Instead, we’re given the narrative the administration wants us to hear… with no easy way to check this reporting for ourselves?
Governor Walz calls it “nation-leading energy conservation legislation” and even Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan, a member of White Earth Reservation, says the act “expands our commitment to low-income consumers”… yet this “ECO” Act is only ECO in it’s acronym: Energy Conservation and Optimization Act of 2021. Its entire focus being, not on our NATURAL ENVIRONMENT, but on the financials and efficiencies of anthropocenic energy use.
It begins:
The legislature finds that energy savings are an energy resource, and that cost-effective energy savings are preferred over all other energy resources. In addition, the legislature finds that optimizing the timing and method used by energy consumers to manage energy use provides significant benefits to the consumers and to the utility system as a whole. The legislature further finds that cost-effective energy savings and load management programs should be procured systematically and aggressively in order to reduce utility costs for businesses and residents, improve the competitiveness and profitability of businesses, create more energy-related jobs, reduce the economic burden of fuel imports, and reduce pollution and emissions that cause climate change.”
WHERE does this address the effects on the natural world? It only seems to serve rule-making and ideologies around how humans manage their own extractive and anthropocene energy needs, not truly dealing with the climate impacts directly but, giving us a distraction to pretend we’re making progress… as we continue to assist large energy facility work. In other words, it seems only a bunch of busywork to be done as the spaceship on which we all depend for every aspect of our lives, continues its downward spiral of bad health… which leads eventually to the extinction of humanity.
Not serving the people, but facilities… the first point under the Large Customer Facility section is about creating opportunities for exemptions. [Who doesn’t love a loophole?!? FFS.]
The owner of a large customer facility may petition the commissioner to exempt both electric and gas utilities serving the large customer facility from the investment and expenditure requirements of paragraph (a) contributing to investments and expenditures made under an energy and conservation optimization plan filed under subdivision 2 or section 216B.2403, subdivision 3, with respect to retail revenues attributable to the large customer facility. … Once an exemption is approved, the commissioner may request the owner of a large customer facility to submit, not more often than once every five years, a report demonstrating the large customer facility’s ongoing commitment to energy conservation and efficiency improvement after the exemption filing. The commissioner may request such reports for up to ten years after the effective date of the exemption, unless the majority ownership of the large customer facility changes, in which case the commissioner may request additional reports for up to ten years after the change in ownership occurs. The commissioner may, within 180 days of receiving a report submitted under this paragraph, rescind any exemption granted under this paragraph upon a determination that the large customer facility is not continuing to make reasonable efforts to identify, evaluate, and implement energy conservation improvements.”
It seems this basically implements authorization to charge rate-payers with the work the state is asking to be done, simply another way for the People to fund this mandated “ECO” work and thus improve the bottom lines for Utility providers.
Further, item (b) seems to provide even MORE LEEWAY to charge the public for these concerns:
(b) A public utility may file annually, or the Public Utilities Commission may require the public utility to file, and the commission may approve, rate schedules containing provisions for the automatic adjustment of charges for utility service in direct relation to changes in the expenses of the public utility for real and personal property taxes, fees, and permits, the amounts of which the public utility cannot control. A public utility is eligible to file for adjustment for real and personal property taxes, fees, and permits under this subdivision only if, in the year previous to the year in which it files for adjustment, it has spent or invested at least 1.75 percent of its gross revenues from provision of electric service, excluding gross operating revenues from electric service provided in the state to large electric customer facilities for which the commissioner has issued an exemption…”
The Climate Action Framework’s “Working Together” section on page 17 pushes me to continue to wonder, HOW exactly Tribal Nations were involved with the writing of this framework. Here’s the statement on Tribal Nations role and leadership from the document:
However, based on the Walz Administration’s implementation of EO 19-24, it seems the State CLEARLY LACKS an ability to comprehend their TRUE obligation to Federal Trust Responsibilities. This sentence on page 19 perhaps gives insight to what we can expect… more of the same?
“The State of Minnesota must uphold treaty responsibilities in all State decisions, public processes, and policies by protecting the land, native foods, and the cultural heritage of Indigenous Minnesotans.”
Note this does not say “will” but “must”. Which has always been the case… throughout time immemorial, yet the respect for Tribal sovereignty has been an ongoing divisive issue here in Minnesotan when it comes to implementation of “law”.
The second paragraph notes the State “will work with Tribal Nations” but what we’ve seen to date has given NO INDICATION that the state will do what is required, which is to CONSULT with Tribes, not notify them, as we’ve witnessed over and over, including the most recent implementation of a permit issued locally for a new OSB plant for Huber Manufacturing adjacent to the Leech Lake Reservation… a project the Tribe learned about in a press release.
On page 20 of the Framework the topic of Water arises… which again returns my thoughts to the Line 3 project as it was installed with one segment just a stone’s throw from the St. Louis River itself, and with the project placed within St. Louis River’s recently (and expensively) restored Estuary. Unless this document is truly going to bring a CHANGE in the way MN interacts with the Tribes, I fail to see that it will be effective or even lawful.
Again, the only climate-related “success” of the Walz administration comes first – with Goal 1: Clean transportation focused on Clean Cars proposals and goals. But Minnesota must remember, while some of this work, especially that focused on more human-powered transport options, is good, the move to EVs will also be pushing for more intensive pressure for mining in Minnesota as humans have failed to implement Cradle-to-Grave systems where components and materials of products are re-used, recycled, or managed in a way to prevent continued heavy extraction of natural resources. I’d ask, what inputs from the Tribe were MOST HELPFUL in the implementation of the Clean Cars legislation? What suggestions of theirs can we call out in the Climate Action Framework verbiage?
The section on Goal 2: Climate-smart natural and working lands, on page 28, makes me consider the FAST PACE at which Minnesotans are slashing our population of trees across the state, recently notable with the work done to create a new corridor of destruction for the Enbridge Line 3 debacle. Large trees are better sequesters of carbon than small trees, yet MDNR appears geared to continue culling trees to support economic gains, without truly considering the importance of these Relatives. Even MNDOT is seemingly dismissive of trees suggesting now that along Highway 34 in Becker County, instead of say, reducing the speed limit for cars in the Smokey Hills Forest area, they want to cull trees on the south side of the road to enhance solar warming of the roadway to reduce traffic accidents. HOW ANTHROPOGENIC CAN WE BE? As we CULL the very beings that produce the oxygen we breathe?
I note on page 29 the sub-goal to “Prioritize groundwater and drinking water protection in vulnerable areas.” Yet we saw the Line 3 project given NO ONGOING POST-CONSTRUCTION MONITORING requirements in the MPCA permits. WHY NOT? Why is there no monitoring to assure the chemicals and muds pumped into our environment during horizontal directional drilling (HDD) – under many of our vital and important water bodies – is OK? No monitoring to ASSURE our groundwater and the water in our rivers that many depend on for drinking, like the Mississippi, which was affected in two places along the corridor, remain SAFE?
The various Initiatives noted on pages 31 to 34, while mentioning “emerging crops” give us NO MENTION OF “HEMP” – a vital and resilient friend that we long ago abandoned, for a variety of reasons, and demonized with a campaign on “Reefer Madness” among other tactics to instead promote extractive options. That this crop, specifically being promoted by a major Indigenous leader in our state, Winona LaDuke, is ignored, seems just another indicator of how LITTLE CREEDENCE was given to heeding Native Voices in this Climate Action Framework. While the section ends discussing “Equity”, it seems clear this is not something the Climate Cabinet understands.
While each section gives a focus on Equity, Goal 3: Resilient communities reminds me that, if we see continued actions as we have in Minnesota, without real change in adding voices of those most affected in vulnerable communities – perhaps even CONSULTING with them on projects that impact them, as is required by work in Tribal territories – might bring real change. But as long as the “systemic” changes continue, focused on a cultural understanding of white supremacy, I imagine most of the improvements we see will continue to disproportionately assist whiter and/or wealthier communities.
The section on Goal 4: Clean energy and efficient buildings could use a little proof-reading as the first sentence on page 47 reads: ” Minnesota’s electricity generation is getting cleaner: 55% came from carbon-free resources in 2020.” Yet the graph adjacent to this paragraph shows that the 55% was our CARBON-BASED Energy, not the carbon-free: 48% in Coal & 7% in Natural Gas = 55% of carbon-based energies. So, you can change the percentage to 45%… or you can modify to show that the majority of our energy is actually NOT from “carbon-free resources”. [This may explain why the Climate Cabinet continues to struggle? You have a mis-guided idea of where we are… let alone where we need to go?]
That said, this section captures where Minnesota is failing… noting: “The industrial and the building sector are both experiencing a rise in GHG emissions. Since 2005, GHG in the industrial sector have increased by 18%. In that same time period, GHG emissions in the commercial building sector have increased by 15% and emissions in the residential building sector have increased by 32%. This is partly driven by greater heating and cooling demands caused by our changing climate. ” [Can you see the vicious circle now, Climate Subcabinet members?]
While your Initiatives focus on a transition to 100% carbon-free energy by 2040, Minnesota just approved Enbridge to build a tar sands pipeline, committing us to decades more of fossil-fuel based pollution. How does this make sense? Especially as the project risks the clean waters on which we depend for life… and culled thousands of trees that provide not only oxygen but also store carbon? And, again, when it comes to Equity… these works seem to affect communities of color disproportionately historically. I’m finding it incredible that we might see Minnesota able to both amend past injustices and begin to work in ways that don’t create MORE injustice… as we just witnessed in 2021, concurrent to your work in developing this Climate Framework?
Perhaps the most hard to believe section is that on Goal 5: Healthy lives and communities. While there was a full court press for the pandemic, far more people die each year from pollution than died from Covid. Yet we see no real programs on pollution mitigation and improvement on the level we watched the Covid response unfold. Instead, we hear many reports in recent years on how ALL OUR WATER, in fact, all our BODIES, contain PFAS. The word-salad in this section seems especially condescending as it provides no real clarity on exactly how we will make the change, just lofty goals and vague ideas that give no secure feeling we will actually DO THIS WORK.
Nope, I was mistaken!! Section 6: Clean economy is the hardest to believe. After spending the last 7 years working to educate Minnesota’s Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General, Public Utility Commission, and various and sundry Agencies, most prolifically those of DNR, PCA and Health, I’ve seen little to encourage me that any of these parties are listening to the voices of MINNESOTANS. The goals of our economy seem largely based on “workers” and business (though, really, it’s just business, isn’t it?) as called out in the SHORT FORM challenges noted. Seems the biggest concern I’ve noted for Minnesota is not hearing Tribal voices, working to protect vulnerable communities, or even protecting land, air and water for Minnesotans… but instead it is to assure we “don’t leave workers or businesses behind.”
Let’s be honest. We’ve “been in transition” since 2007 when Governor Pawlenty gave us the Next Generation Energy Act. And, while we’ve seen some progress along the way, in recent years what we see is the desperation of a system that is on the verge of collapse as we find more and more severe weather events, less and less social justice, and growing global impacts as well, that show we’re far from assured to make the progress hoped for in this Climate Action Framework.
Though I know six of the contributors to this document, mainly from MPCA and DNR, I see no names of scientists I know, representatives from climate advocacy organizations, or even any Minnesota Native names… in fact, the only Native contributor I recognize (MPCA’s Tribal Liaison) is not from Minnesota’s Tribal Community.
Again, this document gives lofty goals, as do most of the frameworks and plans I’ve seen presented by Minnesota State Government. Yet I fail to see much hope that 1) these will be implemented in a good way (based on what I’ve watched to date in Minnesota government) or 2) they will be successful (as we seemingly fail to recognize the urgency with which action is needed or stress the focus on Indigenous knowledge and RECIPROCITY that will be required to move forward WITH Mother Earth).
Appendix 1 on State Action Steps is full of words like evaluate, prioritize, develop, deploy, collaborate, encourage… but the check boxes for Lead, Enact, and Encourage show far more hopes for Leading and Encouraging than actually Enacting.
Here’s one where Enact is checked but not the other two… which may be telling if it’s for what it brings to my mind, which is the Huber Manufacturing OSB plant just approved near Leech Lake Reservation.
2.5.2 Promote the use of forest products that store carbon and reduce GHG emissions: Enhance markets for long-lived wood products that increase carbon storage and substitute for more fossil-fuel intensive materials
Huber’s OSB plant may be justified by some climate-minimizing statistical calculations (you can prove ANYTHING with statistics if you try hard enough), though it certainly does NOT show Leadership for Climate Mitigation or Encouragement of Protection for Vulnerable Communities… as they plan to take many of the trees surrounding their plant and turn them into housing materials? [Again, with the Leech Lake Tribal government learning about this plant permit in a Press Release… HOW exactly are we ENACTING CONSULTATION?]
Telling of our desperation is this item:
3.3.1 Advance climate adaptation in residential & commercial development: Research ways to increase resiliency of buildings to extreme precipitation, flooding, extended heat waves, urban heat island effects, grid failure from extreme weather, and other climate change impacts [Uh, this recognition of the troubles coming our way (and for some already here) is not balanced by any urgency noted in this planning framework.] Or item 2 on this Sub-Initiative: Adopt resiliency provisions in codes, permits, and policies for new construction, rehabilitation and adaptive reuse, and create resilient design standards [Which gives no confidence that we actually have real plans for HOW TO DO THIS… let alone any certainly that we can do it quickly enough.] Or this third idea on the same bullet point: Encourage new construction and rehabilitation of housing to plan for resiliency/adaptation (e.g., waterproofing basements, raising mechanicals and coordinating with energy improvements, installing mold resistant and passive cooling building features), ensuring new developments build outside of higher risk flood areas that retain the natural benefits those areas often provide. [This is just an encouragement… when it could be more robust with rule-making or legislation.]
In the end, this seems a dreamy document, not based in the reality of our circumstance or the urgency of our situation at present. This is an ongoing concern I’ve been voicing to Minnesota officials and agencies for years now, that we are not taking the situation seriously enough and, perhaps especially as Minnesotans, not aggressively pursuing NEW WAYS to do the things more critical to our survival, but instead continuing to work within the white supremacy based systems we already have in place; systems which have offered little hope for the Native, Scientific and/or Youth advocates to be heard. These advocates, who worked diligently to prevent NEW fossil fuel infrastructure in 2021… as global calls for ending fossil-fuel infrastructure development continue to grow louder and more demanding, are instead facing prosecution as Minnesota continues to reveal its ever-present racist past rearing its ugly head.
If we look to the future and a green economy, Sub-Initiative 6.1.1 Grow green economy jobs through innovation gives little hope as again, we see ENCOURAGEMENT, not legislation or regulation to prevent damage or propose better solutions for this line item: Work with industry to advance process improvements that are better for our climate and for worker health
When it comes to policy, the actual work seems focused on things that FURTHER DETERIORATE Minnesota’s natural resources, as we watch friends continue opposition to Polymet and other mining initiatives still being considered by the State of Minnesota.
The things in these documents that make sense are largely well-known from the data and information we’ve had for decades, yet we have watched in this same time as Minnesota waters have become MORE impaired, State Agency work has culled MORE of our trees, and pollution has continued to worsen.
You all did a good job of assessing current short-comings but little to instill hope for a changed future. I hope you will take a look at my input and add detail and clarity on HOW this work will progress, not just the dreamy ideals on which it holds hope.
To close, I feel the most HONEST page in the Framework is the Vision page:
This at least seems to give insight to the lack of consideration you will give to Trees, as you fade them into the background, hiding their glorious color… and Children and perhaps even Minnesota herself, both shown as about as tiny as they could be on this graphic. Sad really. But, based on my experience, true.
Thank you for your consideration.
I’ll note, while I was disappointed to not be selected for this Climate Subcabinet, I can see now that it likely would have felt largely like a waste of time generating dreamy ideals not based in reality and largely leaving Minnesota beholden to corporate interests. So, for that, at least, I thank you.
As we continue with the ongoing and increasingly horrific climate catastrophes, just thought I’d give a bit of insights for your consideration.
As you regular readers know, this blog has written much about Line 3 – now Line 93 as Enbridge says they are already pushing tar sands through it… regardless of the fact that there are many water issues remaining to be resolved, perhaps most significantly, the aquifer breach adjacent to the Enbridge Clearbrook Terminal, which has been leaking since January… and there appears to be no immediate remedy in sight.
Ron Turney of Indigenous Environmental Network has put together some amazing drone footage covering the problems, for which the Minnesota DNR and Pollution Control Agency (those agencies charged with managing our natural resources to assure clean land, air, and water for all) seem to have no care or time.
Aquifer Breach at Enbridge’s Clearbrook Terminal – leaking since January 21, 2021 with no remediation progress in sight. Photo Credit: Ron Turney
It’s unfortunate that humans can never anticipate all the myriad ways that an accident can occur. But once an accident does occur, PHMSA wants to ensure that the same scenario never happens again. So the agency requires regular inspections on every aspect of the pipeline, from its corrosion control measures to the calculation of maximum allowable pressure within the pipe. And this means a regular and frequent presence of state and federal inspectors traveling the pipeline, poking around pump stations, taking pictures of workers welding, looking through manuals, and sitting in on table-top disaster response drills.
However, the inspection agencies are funded by the pipeline companies, including inspectors’ salaries, office equipment, personal protective equipment, and vehicles for conducting inspections.
If the agencies conducting the inspections are funded by those being inspected, who are the inspectors really working for?
In addition to a flow of oil and funding, there is a flow of personnel. An enormous amount of job-shifting occurs between the inspection agencies and the pipeline companies, similar to the famous revolving door between legislators and lobbyists. That means that pipeline companies get personnel who are fully trained in the regulations—and who also understand how to keep certain issues, even violations, from the eyes of the inspectors. In turn, the inspection agencies sometimes get personnel who might give a pass to certain possibly unsafe practices. …
When an inspector does find a problem, from anything as minor as the company failing to do a timely inspection on an element of the pipeline to something as consequential as causing a death, the inspector may impose a fine. While the regulatory codes are extensive, penalties for violations are small. … They remain comically low compared to the profits that the company rakes in.
Even then, companies argue and litigate over those small fines and penalties. Penalties are often reduced or eliminated altogether.
How effective can an inspection be if the companies don’t face repercussions for bad behavior?
What is the message sent to pipeline companies if the already miniscule slap on the wrist for violations is further reduced?
Enter Enbridge Line 3. Given the amount of scrutiny over pipeline construction, why didn’t Minnesota’s state pipeline inspection agency send increased numbers of inspectors to the construction sites, if only to give the appearance of understanding the public’s concern about the pipeline? Instead of paying for the enhanced “security” during construction, why didn’t Enbridge instead pay for enhanced presence of inspectors, people who are supposed to ensure the safety of the public?
It is clear that Enbridge is beholden to its profits and not to protecting the public.
If the Minnesota PUC, MPCA, or DNR HAD required Enbridge to fund added INSPECTION instead of added security, we’d have likely not had an aquifer breach, that happened in January and remains unresolved to this day… and we’d likely not have had so many grandmas and children in hand cuffs by overly aggressive (and financially incentivized) local law enforcement care of Enbridge. [***Thanks to IEN for the footage of the aquifer breach as I continue to not have found the ability to finalize my own footage yet Nice coverage, Simone, Dawn, and Ron.***]
So, while Enbridge fails to clean up their current mess, they are claiming their pipeline is pushing tar sands by 10/3… or was it 10/1? As they appeared to be hydrostatic testing the pipeline in my neighborhood on September 30th this past week… I kinda think that this is really a “Hey, we hit the On-Time Deadline! Bonuses can be paid! (But slow roll those sands as we’re really still building here! Shhh… ‘Substantially’ is where we’re at… not complete. Shhh!) Shareholders, rejoice as we’ll be making money instead of bleeding it!! Hoorah for Enbridge! (Well, we’re still bleeding money on the build with that darn aquifer breach… toughie, that one, eh, but we’re sure we can afford enough grout to seal it closed once we… uh… flow oil? {gulp})…”
Afternoon of 9/30/21… RA-05 portion of the NEW Line 93: 250th Crossing in Clearwater County (Spread 2 of the LR3 project)
Meanwhile, the world is falling apart in so many ways. This week, I’ll give a shout out to Beau of the Fifth Column, who puts it this way when it comes to water shortages in the Southwest. The impacts are staggering… and with the historic droughts… the most severe in paleoclimate and historic records… it MIGHT (maybe?) be a good idea to consider water as a most critical resource. Uh, you know, water? The source of all life?
It’s been another whirlwind of a week in Enbridgeland.
As most find themselves accepting a future Enbridge wishes – and promotes daily on the radio still… and with large ads in the paper too? [I wouldn’t know as we don’t get a paper. Perhaps for the best to not have to see Enbridge lies…] Their favorite, in these end days, is the one about how well Enbridge works with the Tribes. [FFS. They’ve done all they can to DIVIDE Tribes!]
This weekend, we discovered a new tagline – financed by Enbridge I’m guessing, based on the large billboards and signs being for the companies who have long supported the Line 3 project …for what recompense, I know not, though perhaps some foolishly support them without compensation? These new signs are perhaps the scariest yet… so I’ll save them for the end of the blog.
Yet regardless of all their advertising, Enbridge could not be in a much bigger mess at this point in the game.
As we saw with Dakota Access Pipeline on their final river crossing, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe brought out tremendous support AGAINST a pipeline running through [not the white neighborhoods of Bismark… but] the Native lands of the Sioux People. All along the Line 3 process in Minnesota, we’ve seen the strong and vocal opposition, based in science and standing on the treaty rights of the Anishinaabeg.
Yet these citizens were stymied again and again by state agencies in apparent collusion with Enbridge as commissioners were nearly completely unwilling to meet with citizens or scientists, state representatives literally campaigned for the oil transport company to be paid millions of dollars in back taxes, and even the MN Court of Appeals seemed to find that, even though there was no demand forecast provided… deferring to the Public Utilities Commission was A-OK anyway!
Nevertheless, Enbridge is finding its project also falling apart at their last crossing… of the Clearwater River, no less. Ironic, no? As they are trying to wrap up construction, there is evidence of a frac-out once again.
To this DAY, STILL the Mississippi Headwaters continues to show evidence of frac-out drilling mud seeping up through the wetlands and rising to the water surfaces, and into Misi-ziibi. All coming downstream to a drinking water source near you?
RISE Coalition, Red Lake Treaty Camp, Camp Migizi, Honor the Earth, and Indigenous Environmental Network are holding Enbridge accountable for their destruction of our wetlands, waters, and lands. While the MN DNR and MPCA seem to do near nothing but allow Enbridge to continue said destruction. [Love Forever to Ron Turney…]
That was just the beginning of their HDD (Horizontally Directional Drilled) water crossings and their luck has continued to be poor as we now see the frac-outs at the Clearwater River, as well as the larger problem of Enbridge’s VIOLATION of their Construction Permit which resulted in their BREACH OF AN AQUIFER in Clearbrook – WAY BACK IN JANUARY… which the DNR claims to not have known about until June 15, 2021, and for which the public was not informed until just this month. This aquifer CONTINUES to leak as Enbridge finds no way to remedy their rupture. NINE MONTHS LATER… [FFS, I could make an entire HUMAN in that time!]
Keep in mind that June 15th was just ELEVEN (11) DAYS after the DNR approved an almost 10-fold increase in dewatering allowance for Enbridge. DID NO ONE CONNECT THE FUCKING DOTS ON THIS SHIT??? FFS How thoughtless ARE the DNR agency representatives???
Separately, the DNR has also referred this matter to the Clearwater County Attorney for criminal prosecution. The DNR has determined that Enbridge Energy violated Minnesota Statute 103G.141, subdivision 1, which makes it a crime to appropriate “waters of the state without previously obtaining a permit from the commissioner.”
The criminal referral and civil enforcement orders resulted from an investigation of Line 3 construction activities near Enbridge’s Clearbrook Terminal. Should the company violate the DNR’s restoration order, it would be subject to additional misdemeanor charges under state law.”
On Saturday, we discovered a large Enbridge holding tank farm in SE Bagley, just between the golf course and the nursing home facility in a small cul-de-sac neighborhood of quiet homes. On discovery, I wasn’t sure what this holding tank facility was all about, though on review of the footage at home that evening, I determined these were likely settling tanks for the large amounts of water Enbridge was removing from our landscape as they try to finish their work.
What are the contents of these tanks?
It seems two things, based on aerial and on the ground footage… and NO INPUT FROM THE DNR OR MPCA to Citizens of the dangers entailed.
First, they appear to be tanks for the frac-out contaminated waters vaccuumed from their HDD locations to be placed for settling – as their designed dewatering systems were FAR TOO INSUBSTANTIAL to accommodate the LARGE QUANTITIES OF FRAC-OUT CONTAMINATED WATER.
Approved Dewatering Site – 260th Street crossing of Line 93 in Clearwater County
Enbridge dumps water in here and hope the bales filter out any sediments as the liquid – water with any contaminants from the trench – flows back into the environment. Or so I hear… never saw one in use here in Clearwater County.
This was taken at the 250th street crossing where these dewatering stations never were installed.
Second, with the aquifer breach near Enbridge’s Clearbrook Terminal, it seems clear there could also be water coming from that location as well. AND at least one truck leaving this job site was marked not as “Non-Potable Water” but with HazMat Code 1993 – FLAMMABLE LIQUID.
Access Road 15C is at the Aquifer Breach at Enbridge’s Clearbrook Terminal
We saw multiple trucks leaving an area on Fairgrounds Road directly east of the Bagley dump. Not only did we see dump trucks (one that dumped its load in the dump) and “Non-Potable Water” trucks, but also another with HazMat Code 1993 – FLAMMABLE LIQUID, following that one directly to the tank farm facility SE of Bagley.
The Administrative Penalty Order issued to Enbridge found Enbridge far exceeded plans presented to the state of Minnesota for only an 8′ deep trench in the area:
Beginning on about January 21, 2021, and continuing through the date of this APO, Enbridge has violated Minn. Stat. § 103G.223 by causing reductions in groundwater resources available to the Leon 33 calcareous fen (Steenerson and Deep Lake Fens) (calcareous fens) without an approved calcareous fen management plan. In 2020, Enbridge informed DNR, in its request for a no effect concurrence, that its construction activities were unlikely to negatively impact the nearby calcareous fens because Enbridge intended to excavate about an eight foot deep trench. Instead, when Enbridge constructed the pipeline at or near the Clearbrook Terminal, Enbridge excavated an eighteen foot deep trench and installed sheet piling to a depth of 28 feet. Because Enbridge deviated from its plans, Enbridge breached an artesian aquifer, causing uncontrolled flow of groundwater. The uncontrolled flow affects the same aquifer that upwells into the Leon 33 calcareous fen (Steenerson and Deep Lake Fens) and is located approximately 4,800 feet northwest of the calcareous fens. Enbridge failed to submit a calcareous fen management plan for DNR approval prior conducting an activity that may drain, or otherwise degrade, wholly or partially, a calcareous fen.”
This situation is also noted in the Restoration and Replacement Order:
In an email to Randall Doneen dated July 7, 2021, Kristen Lenz of Merjent, Enbridge’s consultant, stated that as of March 19, 2021, the quantity of water pumped was estimated at 3.8 million gallons. Enbridge had not taken any flow or volume measurements since March 18. Attachments to the email showed that the depth of the bore pit was 18 feet deep by 45 feet long by 12 feet wide. The sheet piling was 30 feet long with 28 feet installed into the ground. This email contained maps, boring logs and other information about the area.”
That many still support Enbridge is a sign of a poor media capacity to shine the light on the egregious way Enbridge is already damaging our state, including for the last nine months, by bleeding water from our landscape – itself experiencing severe drought – as the pipeline company begged the DNR for a HUGE increase in their use of water from the state, all while not revealing their company’s BREACH of an Aquifer because they FAILED to CONFORM to their Construction Permit Requirements!!!
The media has failed – always seeming to drink the Enbridge kool-aid… perhaps because of all those big ads… that generated much-needed revenues during a pandemic? From scarcely reporting on the death and near-death of two Enbridge employees early on in the project work… to barely noting the inclusion of Enbridge pipeliners involved in sex crimes across the north… to not reporting on the police brutality by DNR Officers, State Troopers, and local law enforcement – with much exception here in Clearwater County where we’ve seen Sheriff Halverson honestly, fairly, and transparently enforcing the law. And while they are not covering those very serious and traumatic events, we watch them give the same short shrift to explaining to the public how the state agencies and local citizens have been duped by Enbridge money and propaganda. The media seem just another paid promoter for Enbridge.
Which brings me back to those scary new banners.
Now I know where I’m NOT getting a trailer if I need one… #Boycott King of the Road Trailers
For those who cannot easily name their product, they choose another word in their star-spangled banner ads:
At US Hwy 2 and Clearwater County 2 – the Heart of Enbridgeland?
I’m hoping this time, the public sees the already atrocious concerns being raised simply by Enbridge’s CONSTRUCTION process, and that they will certainly be rising to assure Minnesota is protected from this foreign corporation destroying even MORE of Minnesota than we’ve seen to date.
We surely have seen that no one in the State Agencies are coming to our rescue.
Update 9/29/21:
Bad news: PUC apparently giving Enbridge the Green Light… even though there is SO MUCH MESS STILL REMAINING! Exposed and incomplete wiring not done at many crossings along the RA-05 portion of the route – even at the Clearbrook Terminal.
Photo taken 9/26/21 at east side of Highway 92 just west of the Clearbrook Terminal. These kinds of loose wires are rampant throughout the county, yet Enbridge proposes their project “complete”??? Who inspected this fucking project? Apparently, Minnesota Agencies trust Enbridge for that too…This was taken on 9/25/21 at the Line 93 (that’s its new name…) crossing of 298th Street.
Note the VERY WIDE CORRIDOR which Enbridge seemingly hopes to be able to move all their pipelines into – as their easements for their pipelines thru Leech Lake Reservation end in 2029. Wishing more had understood the critical reasons we have worked so hard to #StopLine3.
The powers that be have trained us to oppress each other via division. We’ve seen too much of that in recent years. The result is that the status quo continues to support the elites, those with power and money, and those who cannot see the oppression of the majority, for whatever reason.
While the vaccine program, rushed and heavily promoted as the ONLY ANSWER, divides families and communities, it seems a failure similar to the ways that Racism and Climate Change have failed… where mostly white elites continue to find no way forward to a new way of life that supports all people and allows for egalitarian access and opportunity.
We see youth, angry and frustrated with the lack of recognition of the urgency with which we need to act.
We have watched as crowds have grown, standing in opposition to Big Oil, Big Pharma, Big Ag. From Minnesota to India, half a world away, we see suppression of the voices of the people most connected to the land.
We see farmers in Minnesota who are left in the dust, literally, as Enbridge dewaters their landscape, draining shallow aquifers and removing water access for the people. [Unfortunately, with Republicans urging a firing of Commissioner Malcolm, a technique they’ve used repeatedly through the pandemic to combat the Walz administration, there may be no September session meaning farmers (and nurses, who were also on the agenda to be helped) may get no relief.]
We see farmers in India standing against the policies that are preventing them from earning a wage or even growing enough food for their own families.
And we know that the Arab Spring was started by a farmer in Tunisia, Tarek el-Tayeb Mohamed Bouazizi (Arabic: طارق الطيب محمد البوعزيزي), who set himself afire in the market as he realized he had no other options… “His self-immolation was in response to the confiscation of his wares and the harassment and humiliation inflicted on him by a municipal official and her aides.”
So what is to come? I fear the only response remaining is Revolution. People in the streets.
As we watch the eviction moratoriums expire, and we see today – HAPPY LABOR DAY! – the elimination of the unemployment supplement that has kept many hanging on during the pandemic, my guess is, the streets will have plenty of people with little to do except shout for justice.
“When we take to the frontlines, please remember why we are here. We are not here to fight the police. We are not here to intimidate workers. We are here for that water. We are here for each other. We are here for future generations.”
Drill pressure is such that fluid expands outside the channel – seen when bursting through into bottom of stream, wetland, or land.
I realized the other night, that they may never listen to us.
When we cannot even listen to each other, how can we hope that the aligned powers that be, will ever have an ear to hear our pleas?
Perhaps they will learn to hear us? When they realize the pain they have caused… in their own heated rush… for self-fulfillment… of a greed that is not truly satisfied… by force?
Perhaps they will realize it is through coherent, collective, collaborative cooperation – where all have enough and all are fulfilled, all are heard and heeded – that we release the old ways and find a new way forward? A way that is truly and beautifully compassionate, loving, and coherent.
I’m sorry, Nimaamaaaki… for not listening to You when you called to me… asking.
How many more times can You take this failure from us? How many more times will You forgive us for not listening? For not doing what You ask of us – to love and protect you… …as You love and protect us?
Giving up Everything
Giving up everything my hungry ghost of hopefulness
Giving up everything not haunted by wanting this
Giving up everything the fortune I was saving
Giving up everything I mercy-killed my craving
Giving up everything I’ve opened up my eyes for this
Giving up everything see the whole magnificent emptiness
Gave what I want for how it is for the stone inside and the bitterness for the sweetness at the core of it
Giving up everything The master plan, the scheming
Giving up everything my cursed search for meaning
Giving up everything the compass and the map I was reading.
The hinterlands I’m leaving I’m finally leaving behind
Giving up everything the big to-do, the hullabaloo The tug-of-war for some twisted truth For the everlasting ache of it No longer slave, not chained to it no gate, no guard, no keeper no guru, master, teacher
See the slow-receding faces dissolve to black, no traces
Are we feeling the hopeful desperation… of birthing this new world? It feels we’re almost there.
She’s going to be worth all the pains, pressures, gains, and losses… of this long, hard labor.
Today’s blog was inspired by and empowered through the work of many fine woman. Some know not their influence, some do. There are too many to name… so the musical ones have my formal recognition here today: Amy Ray & Emily Saliers, AnnieHumphrey, Carrie Newcomer, The Highwomen, the incomparable Natalie Merchant, and so many others.
Today’s blog is my layman’s summary of my reading of the recent decision by Judge Boasberg denying the Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribes’ joint request for injunction to shut down the Dakota Access pipeline. It’s a complicated and interesting read and I’ve done my best to summarize what his Order says.
And it’s not exactly bad news!! Just, sadly, more evidence of how our Courts are not geared to make decisions that common sense would dictate. Boasberg seems to give damning testimony to the irresponsible actions of the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), which I found to salve the wounds of his lawful refusal for relief to the Tribes.
I start with his Opinion, which I recommend reading in full. This guy writes with a concise beauty that I enjoyed reading. [Note that the page numbers all reference the 5-21-21 Order, unless otherwise noted.]
MEMORANDUM OPINION Just like the Dakota Access Pipeline, which meanders over hill and dale before carrying its crude oil underneath Lake Oahe — a large reservoir on the Missouri River between North and South Dakota — the current litigation has wound its way through myriad twists and turns. Last year, in a hard-earned victory for the American Indian Tribe Plaintiffs whose reservations lie nearby, this Court found that Defendant U.S. Army Corps of Engineers [USACE] had violated federal law by failing to produce an Environmental Impact Statement before granting Defendant-Intervenor Dakota Access, LLP an easement to run the pipeline under Lake Oahe. The Court subsequently vacated that easement and ordered the pipeline emptied of oil until the Corps could complete the federally mandated EIS.
Wasting no time, both Dakota Access and the Government promptly appealed to the D.C. Circuit. In a partial win for the Tribes, the Court of Appeals affirmed the two central elements of this Court’s rulings — specifically, that the Corps should have prepared an EIS and that the easement was properly vacated in the interim. The Circuit thus confirmed that the pipeline was, in legal speak, an unlawful encroachment on federal land.
It was there, however, that the Tribes ran out of luck. Prior to the cessation of any oil flow, the Circuit stayed and eventually reversed the aspect of this Court’s order shutting down the pipeline, reasoning that it had not made the necessary findings for what was essentially injunctive relief. In other words, although vacatur of the easement rendered the pipeline an encroachment on federal property, vacatur could not itself bring about the stoppage of oil. For that to occur, the Court of Appeals clarified, this Court needed to conduct an additional, distinct inquiry, a component of which requires the Tribes to demonstrate that — among other things — they will likely suffer irreparable harm in the absence of an order closing the pipeline.
As a result, for all of the headlines and controversy that this litigation has spawned, its tangible consequences for the pipeline itself have been few. Even though this Court vacated the easement for DAPL to cross beneath Lake Oahe, and even though the D.C. Circuit affirmed such vacatur, the pipeline has maintained operations as if none of these developments had occurred. Those seeking an explanation for the persistence of this surprising state of affairs over the past ten-odd months need look no further than the Defendant in this case: the Corps.
Ever since this Court’s vacatur order in July 2020, and across two presidential administrations, the Corps has conspicuously declined to adopt a conclusive position regarding the pipeline’s continued operation, despite repeated prodding from this Court and the Court of Appeals to do so. On the one hand, the agency has refrained from exercising its enforcement powers to halt Dakota Access’s use of the pipeline, notwithstanding its status as an unlawful encroachment. At the same time, however, neither has the Corps affirmatively authorized the pipeline’s occupation of the area underneath Lake Oahe per the process contemplated in its internal procedures. Its chosen course has instead been — and continues to be — one of inaction. Such indecision, it is important to note, does not stem from a lack of time. Nor from a lack of attention. Whatever the reason, the practical consequences of the Corps’ stasis on this question of heightened political controversy are manifest: the continued flow of oil through a pipeline that lacks the necessary federal authorization to cross a key waterway of agricultural, industrial, and religious importance to several Indian Tribes.
Those Tribes thus find themselves forced to return to this Court to seek what they have so far been unable to obtain from the Government: an order halting pipeline operations until the Corps completes its new EIS. Before the Court may grant them such relief, however, binding caselaw requires that the Tribes make an evidentiary showing far beyond anything the Corps needs to itself shut down DAPL. As previously mentioned, they must demonstrate a likelihood of irreparable injury from the action they seek to enjoin — to wit, the pipeline’s operation. For the reasons articulated in this Opinion, Plaintiffs have not cleared that daunting hurdle.
The Court acknowledges the Tribes’ plight, as well as their understandable frustration with a political process in which they all too often seem to come up just short. If they are to win their desired relief, however, it must come from that process, as judges may travel only as far as the law takes them and no further. Here, the law is clear, and it instructs that the Court deny Plaintiffs’ request for an injunction.
The decision by the USACE, that an EIS was not necessary for this project, all the Courts agree was a violation of NEPA. The Courts also agree that the Dakota Access pipeline is currently operating upon an illegal easement. So what went wrong? The historical review of the case is laid out clearly.
Judge Boasberg ordered the pipeline to be vacated within 30 days while the issue was remanded:
“Although it acknowledged that “at least some immediate harm to the North Dakota oil industry should be expected from a DAPL shutdown,” the Court determined that the “seriousness of the Corps’ NEPA error, the impossibility of a simple fix, the fact that Dakota Access did assume much of its economic risk knowingly, and the potential harm each day the pipeline operates” collectively outweighed such negative economic effects.”
Acknowledging that the pipeline now constituted an encroachment, the agency (USACE) explained that its “general policy is to require removal of encroachments and restoration of the premises.” … That outcome was not inevitable, though, as another option available to the Corps — called an “outgrant” — would authorize Dakota Access to use the government-controlled property as it did prior to vacatur, thus effectively issuing it another easement. As the agency admitted, however, that process was subject to the strictures of NEPA, the very statute under which this Court had ordered the preparation of an EIS before any such easement could be granted.
The Corps additionally maintained — without citing any authority — that it was under no obligation “to take any particular action to cure an encroachment within a specified time period” or even “to ultimately cure the encroachment at all.” … It estimated that it would make an “initial decision” as to a potential enforcement action against the pipeline by early October 2020, though it emphasized that it retained the “enforcement discretion to adapt its enforcement recommendations based on new information” at any time.”
The judge goes on to discuss the absurdity of the USACE response to these concerns. His utter frustration and disbelief with this USACE situation seems to rage from the page. He cries out against the audacity of the USACE in their dereliction of duty. He notes, “October, meanwhile, came and went without any word from the Corps regarding its promised “initial decision” as to a potential enforcement action.” (Page 8)
On January 26, 2021, the DC Circuit Court “affirmed this Court’s top-line conclusions that: 1) the Corps’ decision not to prepare an EIS violated NEPA, and 2) the easement should be vacated pending such statement’s completion.” (Page 9)
The DC Circuit held that the Corps violated the National Environmental Policy Act (EPA) by issuing an easement allowing the Dakota Access Pipeline to transport crude oil through federally owned land at the Lake Oahe crossing site without preparing an environmental impact statement despite substantial criticisms from the Tribes.
The court rejected the Corps’ and Dakota Access’ contention that the district court applied the wrong standard by relying on National Parks Conservation Association v. Semonite, 916 F.3d at 1083, which emphasized the important role played by entities other than the federal government. The court explained that the Tribes’ unique role and their government-to-government relationship with the United States demand that their criticisms be treated with appropriate solicitude. The court concluded that several serious scientific disputes in this case means that the effects of the Corps’ easement decision are likely to be “highly controversial.” The court also noted that, although the risk of a pipeline leak may be low, that risk is sufficient that a person of ordinary prudence would take it into account in reaching a decision to approve the pipeline’s placement, and its potential consequences are therefore properly considered. The court affirmed the district court’s order vacating the easement while the Corps prepares an environmental impact statement. However, the court reversed the district court’s order to the extent it directed that the pipeline be shut down and emptied of oil.
Wow. I was with them until that last line… which I cannot seem to make sense. Their rationalization?
“With or without oil flowing,”accordingly, “the pipeline will remain an encroachment, leaving the precise consequences of vacatur uncertain.” (Page 9)
And, rather than making the simple and agreeable decision to shut down the flow of oil – you know, the stuff that risks a spill… as an empty pipeline does not risk a spill – the DC Circuit Court said, “(Judge Boasberg’s) Court “could not order the pipeline to be shut down without . . . required making the findings necessary for injunctive relief” under the traditional four-factor test.” (Page 9)
While the DC Circuit Court tossed this back to the USACE, they would soon submit a 60-day request for continuance, with the change, in January 2021, to a new administration…
When the long-awaited hearing finally arrived on April 9, 2021, however, the Corps — despite the instruction from both the Court of Appeals and this Court, as well as its own continuance request — had surprisingly little to say about the pipeline’s encroachment status. Indeed, far from issuing the contemplated “prompt[]” determination as to how it would “enforce its property rights,”… the Corps’ decision appeared to be that it would make no decision at all. According to Government counsel, “[T]he Corps is in a [sic] essentially continuous process of evaluating the status of the encroachment and what steps are best to take.” … While the agency would “continue[] monitor[ing]” the pipeline and could “take an enforcement action at any time,” it had “no . . . enforcement action to announce” at present nor any “timeline” for such potential action moving forward. … At one point, the Corps seemed to acknowledge the possibility that it might not even decide how to enforce its property rights prior to completion of the judicially mandated EIS (currently estimated for March 2022).”
Well, imagine that. The Army Corps can just lazily do nothing and it doesn’t seem a damn thing we can do?
Judge Boasberg notes that while he “ordered the Corps to clarify its position on whether an injunction should issue. … The agency’s response was less than decisive.” He closes the background section with what I felt was a telling statement: “With this long procedural history in tow, the Court is finally prepared to rule on the Tribes’ request for an injunction.” (Page 11)
Boasberg goes on to explain some of the legal details on a threshold argument and on what is required to prove an irreparable harm. In order to pass that test, a plaintiff must convince the Court:
that it has suffered an irreparable injury;
that remedies available at law, such as monetary damages, are inadequate to compensate for that injury;
that, considering the balance of hardships between the plaintiff and defendant, a remedy in equity is warranted;
that the public interest would not be disserved by a permanent injunction.
Boasberg further clarifies:
The Supreme Court “has repeatedly held that the basis for injunctive relief in the federal courts has always been irreparable injury and the inadequacy of legal remedies.” (Page 13)
“Because [plaintiff] has made no showing of irreparable injury here, that alone is sufficient for us to conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion by rejecting [plaintiff’s] request.” (Id.)
“[T]he injury must be both certain and great; it must be actual and not theoretical.” (Id.)
A mere “possibility” of future harm is insufficient. (Page 14)
…a court, rather, requires affirmative “proof” of likelihood and imminence. (Id.)
Additionally, “the movant must show that the alleged harm will directly result from the action which [it] seeks to enjoin.” (Id.)
Three “kinds of injuries, each of which they claim independently qualifies as imminent irreparable harm and entitles them to permanent injunctive relief” were submitted by the Tribes. The Judge deals with the first at length and the others with greater “dispatch”. (Page 15)
Threat of Damaging Oil Spill
Plaintiffs’ principal claim of irreparable injury derives from the threat of an oil spill underneath Lake Oahe. … That reservoir, as previously mentioned, provides the Tribes with water for drinking, industry, and sacred practices. In order for them to realize any harm from a pipeline leak, however, a series of contingent events must occur: 1) a spill under Lake Oahe; 2) of sufficiently large size; 3) the oil from which rises 92 feet from the pipeline to the bottom of the lake; and 4) which cannot be sufficiently mitigated or contained either before or upon entering the lake. See DA Opp. at 11. Simply itemizing that causal chain suggests the fundamental problem with Plaintiffs’ irreparable-harm argument: they have not established, as they must, that any of the chain’s individual components — let alone the feared end result — is “likely,” as opposed to merely “possibl[e].” …Without such showing, of course, they cannot demonstrate the probability of a damaging DAPL spill at Lake Oahe sufficient to warrant injunctive relief.”
Boasberg goes on to review that previous court findings concur that the risk of a spill at this site is low and that, due to the age of the pipeline, the “Plaintiffs’ own experts” agree that the chances for spill were higher at start-up. He also notes that the suggestion of concern at the DAPL proposed expansion to double its throughput is not an imminent concern. (Page 17) Boasberg mentions a prior ruling on a case of similar circumstance: “Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, however, found such assertions insufficient to establish irreparable harm because the plaintiffs ‘have not shown that a damaging oil spill is likely to occur.'” (Page 19) He concludes that, while the filing did “win the Tribes a remand for preparation of an EIS under NEPA on the ground that such issues made the easement approval “highly controversial,” … it does little to establish a likelihood that the Tribes will suffer imminent, irremediable harm at Lake Oahe from the pipeline’s continued operation.” (Page 20) As well, he notes the “Court of Appeals has since made clear that this Court may only order an oil stoppage upon finding that (among other things) the Tribes will likely experience irreparable harm absent such relief. The prior vacatur holding has little relevance to that question.” (Page 21) He notes also:
Although the potential injury may be significant, the Tribe must show that it is probable to occur in the absence of the preliminary injunction it now seeks. . . . This is the burden the law imposes for this form of relief. The Court must faithfully and fairly apply that standard in all cases, regardless of how high the stakes or how worthy the cause.”
Over the next few pages of the Order, Boasberg goes on to make clear that the Court is not able on the submitted evidence to determine or calculate the likelihood of an imminent or irreparable spill and that “the law requires the Tribes to make a “clear showing” that such harm is at least “likely” in the absence of an injunction. … All they have shown, rather, is a mere “possibility” of injury — and a fairly minimal one at that. This cannot get them over the hump. No matter the stakes and no matter the cause, courts may not grant the “extraordinary remedy” of an injunction “based only on a possibility of irreparable harm.” (Page 24)
Other Claimed Harms
Apart from the risk of a damaging oil spill, the Tribes assert two other harms that require somewhat less discussion. They maintain that they are irreparably injured by “the ongoing trauma of the government’s refusal to comply with the law,” as well as the “undermining [of] the Tribes’ sovereign governmental role to protect their members and respond to potential disasters.”
While Boasberg finds “Neither tack finds the wind,” it seems to me there could be ample argument for these harms. His case is based on the fact that “The problem with both is simple: they depend on the same remote threat of a pipeline spill that the Court has just found insufficient to constitute irreparable injury.” (Page 24)
While the Tribes arguments focused on arguments based on emotional distress that results from a fear of a spill – which, having a low probability of occurring, cannot justify a reasonable concern in this case. Even when the Tribe “claim that “allowing the pipeline to continue operating despite a serious NEPA violation is part of a pattern” of “‘historic trauma’” experienced by “‘every Tribal member,’” one deriving from the government’s “continued refusal to respect the rights of the Tribes throughout the nation’s history” and its “prioritizing non-Indians” at the expense of Tribal members,” Boasburg argues that this “does not qualify as irreparable harm within the context of this case. … [as it] cannot be meaningfully disentangled from the remote threat of an oil spill at Lake Oahe.” (Page 26-27)
The Court does not deny that shameful past. On the contrary, it fully acknowledges and appreciates the “tragic history of the Great Sioux Nation’s repeated dispossessions at the hands of a hungry and expanding early America,” along with the persistent “threat that new injury will compound old.”
Plaintiffs’ second claimed harm founders for similar reasons as the first. According to the Tribes, “[T]he Corps’ NEPA violations have undermined [their] sovereign governmental role to protect their citizens, respond to disasters, and mitigate harm.” … It soon becomes clear, however, that these governance-based harms are once again derivative of the same speculative spill-risk harms handled above.
One final aspect I find a bit confounding. On page 28, Boasberg notes: “Finally, DAPL itself does not implicate any “loss of sovereignty over Tribal land,” … as the Lake Oahe segment traverses only federal property.” Here I’d argue that ALL LANDS are Tribal lands, though I’m sure there is some legalese that refutes this as well, making my argument illegitimate. [With laws written by the colonizers, those same folks who brought to you deceptive and relentless treaty negotiations, it seems the Tribes are given no option save to declare war on a foreign nation?]
Boasberg redeems himself to me – and places the blame for this situation fully in the hands of the USACE – in this summary of his conclusion that he must deny the relief sought:
It does not reach that conclusion lightly. Fully aware of the unshakable indignities visited upon the Tribes across generations, the Court, as it has throughout this litigation, scrutinizes the record with care. It likewise acknowledges the quandary in which Plaintiffs find themselves and the undeniable frustration that comes with it — namely, having achieved (and successfully defended on appeal) the vacatur of a key pipeline easement, they must now turn around and make an even steeper showing to obtain the injunctive relief necessary to stop the flow of oil.
The Court closes this analysis where it began: with the Corps. Plaintiffs, no doubt, will wish that the Court’s Opinion today had come out differently. Simply by ruling, however, the Court has at least given them something the Corps has not: a decision. Notwithstanding repeated instruction from this Court and the D.C. Circuit to “decide promptly” and “in the first instance” how it “will enforce its property rights” vis-à-vis the pipeline’s encroaching on federal land at Lake Oahe, the Corps has not yet issued any determination on the matter at all — more than ten months since the invalidation of the underlying easement. … Much like the Circuit, this Court presently “ha[s] no occasion to consider” whether, by way of such inaction, the Corps has effectively granted “a de facto outgrant without engaging in the NEPA analysis that the Corps concedes such an action requires.” Id. For now, it suffices to note that by ducking the controversy surrounding the Oahe crossing, the Corps actively tolerates DAPL’s continued operation underneath a key federal waterway that it lacks the necessary authorization to traverse. That, of course, is a political decision outside this Court’s area of inquiry. Whether the Corps formally acknowledges such decision or not, this is the outcome it now owns.”
So we can all cross our fingers and hope for the best!
I should include also, the Judge’s mention of the Tribes’ request for clarification on the 408 Permit “(which the Tribes now maintain “indisputably relied on the invalidated environmental assessment” and thus cannot stand.”) (Page 30) In this instance, the Tribes failed “to explain why vacatur of the Section 408 permit would yield that result, as a “Section 408 permit, rather — much like the MLA easement — simply denotes the Corps’ approval of Dakota Access’s plans to site the pipeline on federal property,” and potential vacatur of said permit also would not bring a shutdown of operations. (Page 30-31)
It’s clear to me that the Judge seems to believe the US Army Corps of Engineers has violated NEPA, however, as the DC District Court ordered against the shut down of the line and that his court had no capacity to do so without proof of imminent and irreparable harms, which he could not do with the information provided, his hands are tied.
I truly believe it broke his heart to write this Order.
There is still a possible option. President Biden could ask the USACE to uphold their Treaty responsibilities and do what is right, honor the voices of the Native Peoples asking for relief. Give them relief, if only until the Corps can complete the EIS. It’s the right thing to do.
In Early February, 33 Democrats wrote to Biden, urging him to close down the pipeline, stopping it from transporting crude oil between North Dakota and Illinois.
“By shutting down this illegal pipeline, you can continue to show your administration values the environment and the rights of Indigenous communities more than the profits of outdated fossil fuel industries,” they wrote….
In a statement, the Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN) focused on Biden’s infrastructure proposal, claiming that it has a “major oversight: it neither acknowledges nor strengthens tribal sovereignty.”
“Congress and the Biden administration must know that recovery cannot take place until Tribal nations are the ones making the decisions about projects that impact their peoples and their lands,” IEN stated.
Two breaches are within 8 and 25 miles of me; the third is near a friend’s house on Nagaajiwanaang / Fond du Lac Reservation (the breach is just off Reservation land). So many suffered here this summer. Wells drying up… So many who had to truck in water… Well, that’s just PART of the story. 
It’s devastated us both.
That trauma has been key in my own physical deterioration. I can only imagine how hard it’s been for those less fortunate than us.
again, screwing over the Native Nations in our fair state (the tree take circle includes most of the Reservation lands here). And… wait for it… 
MN taxpayers forking over $80M to help it happen! 
WTF? There goes our Democracy??? 
Retired at 45 
