New Report Exposes Enbridge as Serious Threat to Great Lakes Region

Minneapolis, MN -- A new report compiled by national and regional environmental and Tribal groups exposes the serious threat Enbridge Inc., the Canadian oil pipeline goliath, poses to the Great Lakes region.

Released today, the report highlights the various tar sands projects Enbridge operates across the Great Lakes region and the devastating impact it has had on communities and will continue to have if Enbridge is permitted to continue its scheme to expand its pipeline system through the towns, rivers, properties, wetlands, and streams of the Great Lakes area.

“The fight against tar sands did not end with the rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline," said Catherine Collentine, Campaign Representative for Sierra Club's Beyond Dirty Fuels campaign. “In order to protect our climate, our communities, and our waterways, we must stop Enbridge's scheme to expand its network of dirty oil and tar sands pipelines throughout the Great Lakes region.”

“These pipeline projects pose a devastating threat to tribal peoples, our homelands, and our future survival,” said Tara Houska, National Campaigns Director with Honor the Earth. “Enbridge's plans will destroy Anishinaabe wild rice beds and wipe out an entire culture. The new report details why Enbridge must be stopped and why billions of dollars in pipeline investments are an incredible waste in a time when we are moving to a post-fossil fuels economy.”

“Link by link, Enbridge is laying the pieces of a massive crude oil transportation corridor throughout the Great Lakes region," said Andy Pearson, Midwest Tar Sands Coordinator at MN350. "Standing up for a stable climate, for the protection of indigenous treaty rights, and for the integrity of our water means stopping Enbridge's expansion plans. This report reveals how Enbridge's dangerous pipeline puzzle fits together.”

Main points from the report include:

• Enbridge is the world’s largest transporter of carbon disruptive tar sands oil, one of the dirtiest fuels on the planet.

• Enbridge is actively seeking ways to circumvent public review processes in order to increase tar sands oil movement by as much as 1.1 million barrels per day in the United States.

• Among the major pipeline companies, Enbridge has one of the worst safety records and has been labeled incompetent by the National Transportation Safety Board for its role in the July 2010 spill into Michigan’s Kalamazoo River, the largest inland pipeline disaster in U.S. history. Between 1999 and 2010, Enbridge was responsible for more than 800 spills in the U.S. and Canada, dumping 6.8 million gallons of oil.

• Enbridge has displayed disregard for home and landowner’s safety and property, as well as cultural sensitivities and impacts to resources and the environment on tribal treaty and ceded territories.