Your Comment is Needed to Stop the Line 3 and Dakota Access Pipelines

UUMFE
Artwork by Christi Belcourt. Graphics by Sarah LittleRedfeather. Image courtesy Honor the Earth.

This is a critical time to speak up against the Line 3 and Dakota Access pipelines, which both await key decisions from public officials in the near future. These projects – which have been fought by Indigenous and grassroots communities for years – violate Indigenous rights and put all of our futures at stake. Solutions must be rooted in community-led decisions, not dangerous pipelines; solidarity is needed to pressure officials to respond to calls for justice and responsibility. Can you spend 5 minutes today to help stop these pipelines?

Stop the Line 3 Pipeline

Enbridge’s proposed Line 3 pipeline would pump dangerous tar sands oil from Alberta, Canada to the western shore of Lake Superior, putting freshwater and delicate ecosystems at risk, and violating Indigenous treaties. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and his administration will make a decision about the Line 3 Pipeline Water Quality Permit before November 13. Rejecting this permit is absolutely crucial: if he and Commissioner Bishop grant this permit, construction on the pipeline would begin immediately. Can you spend 5 minutes asking public officials to deny this permit? Act before November 13 with this toolkit. 

Call Minnesota Governor Tim Walz: (651) 201-3400. 

Script: “We ask the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to consider treaty tights, harm to Indigenous communities and climate consequences in its assessment of the impacts of Line 3 – as the administrative law requires. So far the PCA has chosen not to do so. This can be fixed. Please follow the science, follow the facts, uphold the law and deny the permit.”

Call Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan: (651) 201-3480 (this is policy staffer Charles Sutton’s line) or (651) 201-3400.

Script: “Hi, I’m [NAME], I’m [ROLE] with [ORGANIZATION]. I’m calling to ask Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan to make sure her administration doesn’t approve the final water crossing permits for the Line 3 pipeline. I know she wants to be a climate champion and a progressive leader, which is fundamentally incompatible with being complicit in building Line 3. I want her to know we have her back, and that we’re counting on her to do everything she can to make sure the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency denies the permits this week.”
Other points you could make:
– “I share local allies’ concerns about Enbridge’s plans to bring in more than 2,000 out-of-state workers during this enormous spike in Minnesota’s COVID cases.”
– “Democrats just eked out important wins across the country. Now is not the time to launch potentially months-long conflict in northern Minnesota, which would be inevitable if construction begins.”
Call MPCA Commissioner Laura Bishop: (651) 296-6300
Script: “Hi, I’m [NAME], I’m [ROLE] with [ORGANIZATION]. I’m calling because I want to make sure the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency does not greenlight construction for the Line 3 pipeline. Line 3 is one of the biggest proposed oil pipelines on the continent. Commissioner Bishop has the honor of making the biggest climate decision in Minnesota this decade, and people like myself around the country are watching. Please deny the pipeline’s permits, give the lawsuits against it time to play out, and do not greenlight construction for Line 3.” 

Post on Social Media 

Ask public officials to reject the permit over social media. Here are sample social media posts but feel free to make your own:

  • The law and science lead to denial. Say no to line 3.  @GovTimWalz @LtGovFlanagan @lbishopw #StopLine3
  • You can fight climate change, or you can approve this pipeline. You can’t do both. Include the climate impacts in your analysis as Minnesota law says you can. @GovTimWalz  @LtGovFlanagan @lbishopw #StopLine3
  • Why has the PCA chosen to leave climate science out of its evaluation of “other relevant impacts” as it seeks to justify the degraded water quality that Line 3 will cause? @GovTimWalz @LtGovFlanagan @lbishopw #StopLine3
  • Why has the PCA chosen to leave out impacts on treaty lands and Indigenous people as it seeks to justify the degraded water quality that Line 3 will cause? @GovTimWalz @LtGovFlanagan @lbishopw #StopLine3
Artwork by Jesus Barraza.

Stop the Dakota Access Pipeline

Submit a public comment before November 26!

The Army Corps of Engineers is currently in the process of submitting a new environmental impact statement about the Dakota Access Pipeline, after circumventing accountability and due process for years. Support the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in their years-long battle against this pipeline by asking the Army Corps to submit a full review, taking into account Indigenous rights, climate impacts and safety risks. This pipeline has already spilled more than a dozen times, and a full environmental impact review would show it must be shut down.

There are two ways to submit a public comment:

  • Fill out this form. You can edit the default comment in the text box that appears after you enter your information.
  • Or email NWO-DAPL-EIS@usace.army.mil with the subject line “Scoping Comments, Dakota Access Pipeline Crossing” with your own email language.