Whitmer campaigned on the promise to shut down Line 5: That was 5 years ago

Last week, the Michigan Public Service Commission voted to approve a permit for the Enbridge Corporation to build an underground tunnel for an oil and gas pipeline that currently sits on bottomlands in the Straits of Mackinac.

There are only three members of the Michigan Public Service Commission and one of them abstained for the vote, thus making it 2 votes in favor of Enbridge. It addition, it should be noted that all three of the commission members were appointed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. So, the very Governor who campaigned 5 years ago on the promise that she would shut down Line 5, has not only failed to keep her campaign promise, she appointed the very people who just gave Enbridge a permit to build a pipeline tunnel under the largest body of freshwater on the planet. 

Now, the Michigan Public Service Commission, according to the State of Michigan, exists to do the following:

We are committed to developing action-oriented strategies that reinforce the Michigan Public Service Commission as a safe, welcoming work environment and an organization that serves all Michiganders equitably. We address systemic and overt racism, both internally and externally, prevent discrimination, and adjust how we interact with one another as well as our community. We are dedicated to providing the necessary resources and leadership that will support the further development of the Michigan Public Service Commission’s diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, and we will continue to address institutional or cultural barriers that historically have inhibited or may inhibit progress toward these goals, including both within our organization and in the energy and telecommunications industries we oversee.

If this is indeed the mandate of the commission, then they have failed miserably, especially with their granting a permit to build a pipeline under the Straits of Mackinac.

Nearly four years ago, I wrote: During the election cycle of 2018, then Gubernatorial candidate Gretchen Whitmer and candidate for Attorney General, Dana Nessel, both made the promise that they would shut down the Enbridge oil pipeline that runs through the state and under Lake Michigan, also known as Line 5. 

It has been more than five years that Whitmer and Nessel made the promise to shut down the Enbridge owned and operated, Line 5. So why is Line 5 still operating?

We know that Gov. Whitmer tried to use legal means to deal with Line 5, but we all know how limiting that the legal system can be, especially when you have a multi-billion corporation like Enbridge, which had a very large legal team. Regardless, Whitmer and Nessel made a promise to shut down the Enbridge Line 5 and have failed to do so. On top of that, Governor Whitmer appointed the very people who approved the permit for Enbridge to build an underground tunnel for Line 5. 

When are we going to stop giving these politicians a free pass and allow them to deceive us into thinking they would actually do the right thing and shut down Line 5? When are we going to take matters into our own hands and shut down Line 5 ourselves? The very existence of Line 5 violates Indigenous treaties and it perpetuates climate injustice.