Babaamaajimowinan (Telling of news in different places)

Protestors lock down Line 3, Indigenous woman ask Biden to stop pipelines, and resistance ramps up in the courts and on the ground

The Associated Press reports that eight Line 3 protesters were arrested last Saturday, after “more than 150 people gathered in Aitken County on Saturday to protest the project.”

Two more protesters were taken into custody after locking themselves into part of the pipeline, halting all construction. As EcoWatch reports:

“Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has come under fire from Indigenous and climate leaders in recent months as the state has approved key permits that Enbridge needs to complete the new Line 3, especially given the Democratic governor said publicly in February of 2019 that projects like this one ‘don't just need a building permit to go forward, they also need a social permit.’”

As some water protectors on Thursday protested inside a pipe segment a few miles from a man camp in Backus, ‘dozens more held space,’ according to the Giniw Collective. The group also pointed out that ‘Enbridge is working 24 hours per day at several worksites, as a pending injunction to halt work while tribally led lawsuits are heard has yet to be decided.’”

KUMD-FM’s Green Visions program hosted a conversation with Joe Plumer, White Earth tribal attorney, and Frank Bibeau, attorney for Honor the Earth. Plumer noted that:

“[Line 3] is a steam roller, but it’s a steam roller that’s been slowed down...Enbridge just wants to get the pipeline through our area. The problem is, it leaves us, the tribes and everyone else who lives here, with the ongoing and continuous exponential degradation of our fresh water and natural resources. And that’s inextricably linked to our cultural and spiritual beliefs. All for tar sands and oil to get to someplace else on the planet.”

Desmog looked at the legal challenges brought against Line 3 and how President-Elect Biden could halt the construction:

“At the state level, Line 3 opponents are challenging both the PUC’s approval and refusal to pause the project, as well as the Pollution Control Agency’s certification. Two recent petitions before the Minnesota Court of Appeals, brought by the Red Lake and White Earth Bands of Ojibwe, Honor the Earth, and Friends of the Headwaters, aim to halt construction while other legal challenges resolve. These lawsuits could stretch on for another six or nine months, by which time the pipeline construction is expected to be complete.

Andy Pearson, Midwest Tar Sands Coordinator at Minnesota 350 — one of the groups fighting Line 3 — told DeSmog that Enbridge has accelerated its construction schedule in a race against the court challenges, noting that Enbridge knows it is unusual for a court to order the disassembly of a pipeline that is already in the ground. [...]

A new federal administration under President-elect Joe Biden could aid Line 3 opponents by finding Enbridge’s federal permits to be inadequate given lack of consideration to issues like tribal concerns and climate impacts. “We need Biden to be responsible here and to revoke or suspend the [Clean Water Act] permits,” Pearson said, adding: “this pipeline is functionally the same as Keystone XL,” which Biden has opposed.”

Common Dreams shared the news that more than 75 Indigenous women called on Biden to act in a letter, asking him to:

“Immediately demonstrate his ‘commitment to fulfilling the U.S. treaty obligations and ending the reign of fossil fuel extraction in our tribal territories.’ The women leaders focus on the Line 3, Keystone XL (KXL), and Dakota Access (DAPL) pipeline projects. Long opposed by local tribes, environmentalists, and landowners, ‘these three pipelines pose grave threats to Indigenous rights, cultural survival, sacred water and land, the global climate, and the public health crises within our communities, which have been greatly exacerbated by Covid-19,” says the letter (pdf).’”

Read more:

WCCO-TV: Protesters Lock Down Inside Segment Of Enbridge Line 3 Pipe

KSTP-TV: Protesters stage sit-in inside northern Minnesota Line 3 pipeline segment

DeSmog: As Enbridge Races to Build Line 3 Pipeline, Resistance Ramps Up in the Courts and On the Ground

KUMD-FM, Green Visions: "Don't do anything if you don't know the right thing to do. You don't go forward and guess."

EcoWatch: Water Protectors Arrested in Minnesota After Chaining Themselves Inside Enbridge Line 3 Pipe

KFGO Fargo: 2 arrested during latest Line 3 protest

Nation of Change: As Enbridge races to build Line 3 Pipeline, resistance ramps up in the courts and on the ground

Saint Paul Pioneer Press: 8 arrested in Minnesota protest over Line 3 pipeline project

Healing Minnesota Stories: County cops acting as Enbridge security

Common Dreams: Over 75 Indigenous Women Urge Biden to Stop Climate-Wrecking Pipelines and Respect Treaty Rights

The Chronotype: Birkie ends sponsorship with Enbridge

 

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