December 10, 2020

Nation-wide protests challenge US pipeline projects

topic:	Pollution
located:	USA, Canada
editor:	Yair Oded

As President Trump’s term draws to a close, oil and gas companies are rushing to commence and advance construction of pipelines across North America, fearing a crackdown on their operations by the incoming Biden administration. This surge in pipeline construction has accelerated a wave of country-wide protests by climate and indigenous activists who are signalling to oil companies, lawmakers and politicians on all levels of government and the Biden administration that they will not back down in the fight to preserve vital natural resources from destruction by extractive industries.

One of the main pipeline construction projects drawing the ire of environmentalists are Lines 3 and 5 of Enbridge – North America’s largest pipeline developer. The Line 5 project was scheduled to begin construction in Michigan last month but had been halted by executive order of Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who cited an “unreasonable risk” to the Great Lakes and ongoing negligence on Enbridge’s part as the basis for shutting down the project. 

“Enbridge has routinely refused to take action to protect our Great Lakes and the millions of Americans who depend on them for clean drinking water and good jobs,” Whitmer said in a statement, adding that Enbridge's repeated violation of its terms of operation and neglect of structural problems could result in a devastating, large-scale oil spill.

In addition to filing a lawsuit challenging Whitmer’s order, Enbridge had announced that it is moving forward with construction of its Line 3 project in Minnesota. This move had sparked protests by climate activists and indigenous communities who stand to suffer the brunt of the environmental hazards posed by the pipeline. Protesters are now targeting the state agencies that caved to pressure by Enbridge and granted the oil giant a series of controversial permits to commence construction. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) saw 12 of its members resign in protest of its decision to give a green light to the project.

In a letter to the agency, the resigning members stated that “This project is a clear violation of environmental justice, causing significant trauma to the Anishinaabe people,” and accused the agency of waging a “war on Black and brown people.”

As reported by Truthout, activists protesting against Line 3 have witnessed the local police department in Hubbard County (where construction is set to begin) gearing up in what seems like preparation for battle. “Here we see Enbridge delivering bolt cutters, saws, blowtorches, etc. directly to the Hubbard County Sheriff’s office,” reads the description of pictures in a Facebook post by Tara Houska, lawyer and founder of the Giniw Collective, an indigenous women-led resistance group. In an interview with Truthout, Houska called out state agencies and Minnesota governor Tim Walz, stating that “[I]t turns out they are apparently not as brave as Governor Whitmer over in Michigan and are willing to put our children’s futures on the line to allow a Canadian corporation to do as it wishes and to suppress the rights of our citizens.”

Pipeline construction projects elsewhere in the country, from Tennessee to Virginia, have elicited a similar backlash from environmentalists. And while lawsuits seeking to shut down pipeline projects and hold government agencies accountable for abetting environmental and human rights violations circulate through courtrooms, activists on the ground are sacrificing their own bodies in order to prevent the clearing of land in preparation for construction operations. 

In Virginia, protesters have staged an aerial barrier through “tree-sits” in order to stop developers from clearing a forest area slated for the construction of the Mountain Valley natural gas pipeline. Activists have refused to disperse despite a court order threatening them with a cumbersome fine of $500 a day per person.

Many environmentalists appear hopeful that the Biden administration will herald in a new era of tightened restrictions on oil and gas companies, and that the incoming president will fulfil his promise to shut down the Keystone XL pipeline project, and, ideally, other major pipeline initiatives as well. 

But a sober look at Biden’s budding cabinet – an entity blemished by conspicuous ties to the fossil fuel industry – and the mounting pressure emanating from a Canadian government eager to ram through highly-profitable pipeline projects explain the fear of many climate and indigenous activists that the new administration will fail to place environmental and human rights considerations above industry interests. Under such circumstances, continued resistance and public pressure – both in courts and on the ground – remain absolutely vital. 

Image by Johannes Rupf 

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