BAY MILLS INDIAN COMMUNITY

BAY MILLS INDIAN COMMUNITY

PIPELINE NEWSLETTER

SUMMER 2020

SPECIAL EDITION ISSUE 11

SHUT DOWN. DECOMMISSION. REMOVE THE

BLACK SNAKE. SHUT DOWN LINE 5.

Bay Mills has a long-standing and critical interest in the waters of the

Great Lakes, the Straits of Mackinac, and the surrounding region. As

one of the signatories to the 1836 Treaty of Washington, which ceded

territory to the United States for the creation of the State of Michigan,

Bay Mills reserved the right to fish, hunt, and gather throughout the

territory— including in the Great Lakes and the Straits of Mackinac.

Furthermore, as described in detail below, the area has deep cultural,

religious, and economic significance to the Tribe. As a result, Bay Mills

is very concerned about the implications of Line 5’s continued

operation and subsequent permit applications.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE

OF THE STRAITS

3

TIMELINE OF DAMAGE

4

WHAT’S AT STAKE? NOT

ONE WEAK POINT, BUT

MANY

6

BAD RIVER & WISCONSIN

REROUTE

8

TUNNEL PERMIT

PROCESS

9

LEGACY OF HARM

10

TREATY RIGHTS: IT’S

PERSONAL

11

Bay Mills has consistently voiced its concerns about the continued

operation of Line 5 through the Straits of Mackinac and across other

ceded territory in Michigan where it holds treaty protected rights.

“It is extremely important for Bay Mills Indian Community to take up

this battle against Enbridge. Since time immemorial, the Great Lakes

have been an integral part of Bay Mills’ way of life, and they will

continue to be an integral part of tribal culture, tradition, and

economy for many generations to come. By failing to consider the

dangers Line 5 poses to treaty-fishing rights, cultures, and traditions of

the Anishinaabe, we risk killing the heart of Turtle Island — the heart

of North America.” —Whitney Gravelle, BMIC in-house counsel

For more information on Bay Mills’ struggles, refer to

http://www.baymills.org/enbridge-portal.php or

scan the QR code

SCAN ME

Painted turtle oiled during Kalamazoo oil

spill (photo courtesy of EGLE)

Artwork credit: Great Lakes Indian Fish and

Wildlife Commission

BAY MILLS BIOLOGICAL SERVICES NEWSLETTER

PAGE

2

Cultural Significance of the Straits of Mackinac:

Michinnimakinong

The Heart of Turtle Island

What may be less than apparent to EGLE and the general public is that, in addition to the

water and environmental impacts, the Project poses a severe threat to the Bay Mills’ treaty,

cultural, and spiritual resources. The Straits of Mackinac, and the Great Lakes more broadly,

are central to Bay Mills’ cultural, traditional, and spiritual identity.

According to Anishinaabe oral history, a great flood covered all of Earth. The animals that

survived the flood were instructed by the Creator to swim deep beneath the water and

collect soil to be used to recreate the world. All of the animals failed, until the lifeless body

of the muskrat, the last animal that tried, resurfaced carrying a small handful of wet soil in

its paws. The Creator took that soil and rubbed it on the Great Turtle’s back, forming the

land that became known as Turtle Island. Thus, began the creation of North America.

The Great Turtle emerged from the flood in the Straits of Mackinac, and the Great Lakes are

considered the heart of Turtle Island and North America. The word “Mackinac” is, in fact,

derived from the original name of the Great Turtle in the Anishinaabe creation story. The

Straits are more than a waterway; they are a place of ongoing and present day spiritual

significance. Since time immemorial, the Great Lakes have been an integral part of the Bay

Mills' way of life, and they will continue to be an integral part of our culture and traditions

for many generations to come.

Also within the Straits of Mackinac, are numerous spawning grounds for different fish species

– including Lake Whitefish - which our people hold in sacred regard. According to Tribes’ oral

histories, during a time of famine and desolation, the eight traditional clans Bear, Turtle,

Deer, Loon, Crane, Marten, Bird, and Whitefish came together to discuss how to save the

Anishinaabe throughout the Great Lakes Region. After much debate and discussion, the

Whitefish clan chose to sacrifice itself to provide for the wellbeing of the people. The

Whitefish clan submerged itself in the Great Lakes and became the Lake Whitefish that the

Tribes fish and eat today, as a sole source and means to provide for the prosperity of the

Anishinaabe.

These Anishinaabe teachings remind our people of the sacrifices of our brethren and the

resulting solemn duty we have to protect and preserve these resources and these sacred

places. Although it is essential to identify any cultural and historical sites in the area, the

threats from the pipeline go beyond burial sites and cultural resources along the Project’s

path. The Straits of Mackinac is a cultural and treaty-protected landscape that is not valued

on the basis of individual sites alone, but on the interconnectedness of the land, water, and

people. If we fail to consider the significance of the Straits, the Great Lakes and the dangers

the Project poses to the treaty resources, culture and traditions of Bay Mills and other tribal

nations, we risk destroying a way of life for our people, and we risk destroying the heart of

Turtle Island.

BAY MILLS BIOLOGICAL SERVICES NEWSLETTER

PAGE

3

DECADES OF DAMAGE: A NETWORK OF PROBLEMS

As clearly evidenced below, Line 5 and Enbridge have a long history of pipeline ruptures, system

and operator failures, poor inspection practices and inadequate staff training resulting in

environmental contamination, ecological and wildlife impairment, inadequate demonstration of

insurance coverage for environmental remediation, and ecological restoration from pipeline

releases, and the loss of human life. For these and other reasons, we strongly urge regulatory

agencies deny all permits and decommission the pipeline.

National Wildlife Federation (NWF) has been looking into the pipeline’s murky history. NWF

estimates that Line 5 pipeline has spilled at least 1.13 million gallons of oil in more than 30

incidents since 1968 along its length from Superior, WI to Sarnia, Ontario. Data from the US

Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration (U.S. PHMSA) shows that the US portion of

the pipeline network owned by Enbridge and its joint ventures and subsidiaries suffered 307

hazardous liquids incidents from 2002 to August 2018 – around one spill every twenty days on

average. There is no comparable national data set in Canada or a consistent format for data

collection or release. Importantly, Enbridge is responsible for the largest terrestrial spill of crude

oil in U.S. history.

A Lucky Find: Pinhole Leak

Crystal Falls Inferno

In 1990, a helicopter patrol spotted a patch

of oil on the ground about a mile south of

Millecoquins Lake near Engadine. The oil was

from Enbridge Line 5, which had spilled 630

gallons through a pinhole leak.

The spill near Crystal Falls in 1999, released 222,600

gallons of oil and natural gas liquid. The damage was

caused by poor installation decades prior— the line lying

on a rock, which forced the evacuation of about 500

people after responders ignited a vapor cloud that

sparked a 36-hour long fire.

Kalamazoo Spill: Line 6B

On July 25, 2010 Enbridge's Line 6B ruptured 0.6 miles

downstream of the City of Marshall, Michigan along Talmadge

Creek in Kalamazoo County, a tributary to the Kalamazoo River.

This pipeline rupture released more than 1 million gallons of tar

sands bitumen to the environment, and was exacerbated by

Enbridge’s failure to halt the release for 18 hours after its

occurred. Environmental cleanup of the Kalamazoo River spill

reportedly has cost upwards of $1.2 billion.

Enbridge confessed

they knew about bare

Bad River Tribe denies

renewal of easement

January 2017

10/27/2017

BAY MILLS BIOLOGICAL SERVICES NEWSLETTER

Kalamazoo, MI spill into

Talmadge Creek

July 25, 2010

Crystal Falls, MI rupture

200,000 gallons

1999

Naubinway, MI 630 gal

spilled, only 1/3

recovered

1990

Rupture near Gulliver, MI

Monitoring continues 40

years later

1980

Pipeline seam rupture Kalamazoo oil spill (photo

courtesy of EGLE)

PAGE

4

30 since 1968

1.13 since 1968

Incidents

Million gallons released

A Lesson in Pack Ice

In early April 2018, an anchor strike

ruptured a electrical cable releasing

mineral oil into the Straits and denting

the oil pipelines. The multi-agency

response and cleanup was an important

lesson in pack ice and troublesome

spring weather. There were many delays

in the response to this oil spill. It took

many days to determine the toxicity of

the oil spilled. Critical equipment wasn't

on site for weeks after the original spill

date. If this spill had been Line 5 that

leaked, given the weather conditions,

very little could have been done to

respond to the spill in the Straits.

Ice conditions near the spill site in the Straits on April 2, 2018.

2020 Anchor Support Damaged

During a 5/20/20 routine inspection, a portion

of the Straits east segment was found to be

scraped and then, on 6/18/20, the company

found a nearby anchor support on the east

segment was also damaged. The damage is

believed to have been caused by a small vessel

dragging some sort of cable.

The at-fault vessel could be narrowed down to

five, four of which are contracted by Enbridge.

The vessel’s "cable became entangled around

and pulled the pipeline support," according to Damage dislodged the anchor support EP-17-1 from its base on east leg of

pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac (photo courtesy of Enbridge Energy)

the company’s report.

BAY MILLS BIOLOGICAL SERVICES NEWSLETTER

Straits pipeline screw

anchor damaged,

possibly by mntnc crew

Summer 2020

Bad River Tribe files

lawsuit against Enbridge

July 2019

Enbridge files for

tunnel permit during

pandemic

Earth Day 2020

Line 5 dented by

anchor strike

4/1/2018

Gov Snyder signed 1st

Agreement with Enbridge

without tribal consult

11/27/2017

Later in June, the Michigan Attorney General sought and state courts granted an order requiring Enbridge

to temporarily cease operating the Straits pipeline segment. PHMSA insisted the east leg of the pipeline

remain shut down until additional inspections were completed https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/

phmsa.dot.gov/files/2020-07/PHMSA%20Letter%20to%20Enbridge%20re%20Line%205%20-%206-29-2020.pdf.

PAGE

5

Map of Stream Crossing

What’s at stake?



Spawning and nursery habitat

Many edible, medicinal, and rar

hazard zones that would be affe

Reefs and wetlands used by lake whitefish, lake trout, yellow

perch, walleye, and other fish and amphibian species throughout

Michigan.



Wetland and shoreline plants

Many edible, medicinal, and rare plants, including cranberries,

grow along the hazard zone.



Migratory bird habitat

Thousands of birds stop-over while migrating. Winter resident

waterfowl band together in massive rafts in patches of open water.



Aquatic animal habitat

Reptiles and amphibians are particularly vulnerable. A coating of

oil on skin or scales in amphibians and reptiles can lead to reduced

thermoregulatory capacity and suffocation in amphibians.

Amphibians may absorb toxins from oil through their skin. Reptiles,

such as long-lived turtles, may be more susceptible to carcinogenic

effects. Aquatic insects populations, prey for so many other

animals, may high mortality and struggle to recover in

contaminated sediments. A 2019 survey confirmed presence of

mussels in half the streams.



Hunting and fishing lands

4,335 miles of rivers, 491 lakes, and 227,520 upland acres of Ceded

Territory are in the hazard zone.



Groundwater

Research at the USGS Bemidji research lab has shown that when

spilled oil enters the groundwater system, biological activity is

minimal, and the oil is expected to remain in the aquifer for

decades.



A legacy of pollution

What world will you offer the next seven generations?

Bay Mills Biological Services

A. A. Reznicek, Michigan Flora

BAY MILLS BIOLOGICAL SERVICES NEWSLETTER

Bay Mills B

Bay Mills Biological Services

PAGE

6

gs and Environmental Sensitivity

re relatives (plants and animals) live in the

ected by an oil spill.

NOT ONE WEAK LINK, BUT MANY

An oil spill at ANY stream crossing

along the coast could pollute Lake

Michigan in minutes. Replacing the

Straits portion of the pipeline still

leaves 640 miles of risky crossings over

290 streams. Too much is at stake.

Biological Services

Bay Mills Biological Services

Meinzer Wyman, USFWS

400

12

BAY MILLS BIOLOGICAL SERVICES NEWSLETTER

Spawning reefs

vulnerable to a spill

Fish species spawning

in areas vulnerable to

a spill

PAGE

7

THE POWER OF WATER: Erosion around

the pipeline

Line 5 exposure within Denomie Creek

subwatershed (near Bad River). The photo

was taken after vegetation had been

cleared from the are and sandbags were

temporarily installed under the freespanning pipeline (MNRD, 2019).

Bad River Band vs. Enbridge Line 5 Pipeline

The Wisconsin Reroute

The Enbridge Line 5 pipeline, run by Enbridge Incorporated, a

multinational transportation company, based in Calgary,

Canada, has and still is affecting many Native American Tribes of

the North. Among those, is the Bad River Band of the Lake

Superior Tribe of Chippewa in Western Lake Superior Region of

northern Wisconsin. Twelve miles of the Line 5 pipeline

currently travel through the watershed of the Bad River Band

and has already caused considerable damage to the tribe’s

natural environment. Although 15 of the land easements for the

pipeline have expired, Enbridge continues to run the pipeline

indefinitely, claiming that it can take land and Treaty resources

for reconstruction of the line. Members of the Bad River Band

fear that the pipeline will eventually destroy the land and

resources on their reservation. This is troublesome to the Tribe,

considering many resources from nature are not only necessary

to their subsistence and cultural survival, but sacred to them,

such as manoomin, which is wild rice in Ojibwe.

The Tribal Council of the Bad River Band has rejected Enbridge’s

claim that it can take land and water resources for the pipeline

and currently has a lawsuit filed against the company. Their

demands include to have the pipeline decommissioned from

their reservation immediately, along with $45 million for

trespassing damages. Enbridge has offered the Tribe many forms

of monetary aid in order permanently take land and Treaty

resources to continue operating the pipeline on their land, but

Tribal Council have and continue to decline these offers.

The Bad River Meander is shown

completely inundated with water during a

spring flood event. The Line 5 corridor is

visible running through the middle of the

meander. (MNRD 2019).

For more information on Mashkiiziibii’s

struggles, refer to http://www.badrivernsn.gov/natural-resources/threats/ or scan

the QR code

Complaint in Case No. 3:19-cv-00602 Filed:

07/23/19

Illustrating the risk, an oil pipeline is located in the path of the

Bad River’s meandering course (and the land is changing at an

alarming rate), causing the River to move closer to a portion of

the pipeline that is buried shallower than the adjacent River

making an oil spill from the pipeline inevitable. A spill not only

has the potential to cause more extreme damage to the land,

but to the members of the Bad River Band as well. Additionally,

investigations of the Tribe’s reservation show that the natural

changes at the River near the pipeline are not isolated. They

are an example of the broader reality that

the natural changes in the land and water

courses where the line is will only increase

as time progresses. The Bad River Band is

taking a stand against Enbridge Inc. and

their Line 5 pipeline in order to save their

environment, resources, culture, and

community.

BAY MILLS BIOLOGICAL SERVICES NEWSLETTER

PAGE

8

State of the Legal Fight: the Tunnel

What does Enbridge need to proceed with the tunnel expansion, and how can

we participate in preventing them from moving forward?

Enbridge is hoping to move forward with plans to replace the existing Line 5 pipelines with a new

pipeline that will be housed in a tunnel under the lakebed of the Straits of Mackinac. If approved,

this would allow Enbridge to operate the new pipeline for 99 years, and would keep the existing

dual pipelines in operation until construction is completed, estimated to take at least until 2024.

There are a number of permits that Enbridge must receive from a variety of state and federal

agencies prior to moving forward. Bay Mills is submitting comments and, in one instance,

participating as an intervening party, in these proceedings to raise concerns and prevent the

issuance of the permits. Bay Mills is being represented by Earthjustice and the Native American

Rights Fund (NARF) in these proceedings.

The primary permits that concern the pipeline’s crossing of the Straits are:

1. Act 16 Approval certifying the need & route for the pipeline (before the Michigan Public Service

Commission)



In June, the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) denied Enbridge’s request to

bypass the MPSC’s approval process and instead ordered a yearlong administrative review

to examine the need for the project and the environmental impacts it will have.



A trial-like proceeding will be held in the spring to evaluate Enbridge’s permit

application. Bay Mills plans to present evidence about how the new Line 5’s construction

and operation could affect treaty-protected resources and cultural resources.

2. Federal Permit pursuant to the Clean Water Act and the Rivers and Harbors Act (before the

Army Corps of Engineers)



Bay Mills submitted comments on July 14th. The Army Corps is still reviewing the

comments.

3. State Wetlands Permit, State Permit for Impacts to the Great Lakes Bottomlands, and Clean

Water Act Permit (before the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy)



Michigan’s environmental agency (known as EGLE) is reviewing permit applications for (1)

the impacts to wetlands that will result from constructing the tunnel and new pipeline;

(2) the impacts to the bottomlands of the Great Lakes that will result from boring a

tunnel through them; and (3) the discharges of treated wastewater and slurry into the

Straits that will occur during construction.



Bay Mills will be submitting comments on the NPDES, wetlands, and GLSLA permit

applications October 19, 2020.

For all permits, MEGLE must ensure compliance with Michigan Environmental Protection Act.

BAY MILLS BIOLOGICAL SERVICES NEWSLETTER

PAGE

9

A Legacy of Harm to Tribal Communities

Enbridge’s decades-long assault on our health, safety, and food supply is engrained

in the company’s history and is indicative of the fossil fuel industry’s disregard for

Tribal sovereignty.

Because of Enbridge’s abysmal safety record and continued exploitation of our natural resources, our

communities are forced to live in constant fear as our homes, sources of income, and ultimately our lives are

threatened by Enbridge’s continued operation of Line 5.

The oil company’s shoddy pipelines have leaked millions of gallons of oil into the natural resources we rely

on for food, medicine, and trade. Over half of our member households rely on fishing for all, or a portion of,

their annual income. The right to fish, and the need for a natural environment in which fish can thrive, is of

paramount importance to preserving our way of life.

Tribal citizen and subsistence fisherman Jacques LeBlanc Jr. stressed how the tunnel expansion would ravage

both subsistence and commercial fishing, underscoring the vital role the Great Lakes play in maintaining

healthy populations of the different species of fish that are available for harvest. “If a tunnel is built or the

pipelines burst, the numerous spawning areas for fish in the Straits of Mackinac will be destroyed and

poisoned to such an extent that no person will be able to fish, let alone eat anything that comes from those

waters.”

We know that the damage Enbridge has inflicted on tribal nations is not exclusive to Bay Mills or the Line 5

pipeline. In Wisconsin, the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa sued Enbridge last summer in order to

shut down and remove Line 5 or re-route it away from the reservation, and the legal battle will continue into

next year. In northwestern Minnesota, the White Earth Band Reservation has been fighting Enbridge for years

over the company’s construction of a Line 3 replacement pipeline and its refusal to remove the original Line

3 pipeline from the ground, increasing the risk of soil and water contamination that endangers the Tribe’s

ancient rice beds. Many of us painfully remember Enbridge’s Line 6B pipeline, which ruptured in 2010 and

resulted in the United States’ worst inland oil spill in history, polluting almost 40 miles of the Kalamazoo

River. The Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi were among the worst impacted by the

contamination of the river, which they relied on for necessities including medicine, fish, ducks, and turtles.

Earthjustice and the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) are representing Bay Mills in our legal fight to

decommission Line 5. Both organizations have been unwavering

roadblocks in preventing harmful pipeline development;

Earthjustice successfully defeated the proposed Constitution

Pipeline that would have run through Pennsylvania and New York

earlier this year, and is representing the Standing Rock Sioux in

their fight against the embattled Dakota Access Pipeline. NARF

has been advocating for the Rosebud Sioux Tribe of South Dakota

and the Assiniboine and Gros Ventre tribes of the Fort Belknap

reservation in Montana against the proposed Keystone XL

pipeline, of which construction remains halted until 2021.

It is imperative that we remain aware of the legal protections

entitled to our community. Under the 1836 Treaty of

Washington, Bay Mills retains usufructuary property rights to

natural resources in the ceded territory, including in and

around the Straits of Mackinac. The State of Michigan is

obligated to honor these treaty-protected rights, and

prohibited from diminishing them.

BAY MILLS BIOLOGICAL SERVICES NEWSLETTER

Photo by Lucas Zhao - CC BY-NC 2.0

Flags flying at the Oceti Sakowin Camp in 2016, near

Cannonball, ND. Dakota Access Pipeline opposition.

PAGE

10

What do Treaty Rights mean?

Mii’iw anishnaabe-izhitwaawin. Giishpin ani-bima’adooyaang miinawaa, giga-mashkawizimin miinawaa.

This is our way of life. If we follow this path again, we will be strong again.

On March 28, 1836 the native people of this area signed a treaty with the United States . Treaties are,

under the United States Constitution, the supreme law of the land. “Although our ancestors were willing to

provide land to the United States, they carefully protected the traditional lifeway and its reliance on the

environment’s natural resources for food, shelter, medicines, and for trade. This was embodied in Article

Thirteenth of the Treaty, which reserved the right to hunt, and the other usual privileges of occupancy

until the land was required for settlement.”— Bryan Newland

The treaty was handed down through seven generations. The words of that treaty are true today as they

are any other time. But for generations, these commitments were not upheld. Fishermen getting ticketed,

harassed, and many weren't fishing at all because of that harassment. So in 1971, a Bay Mills fisherman

named Big Abe LeBlanc went and set fishing nets in Ceded Territory waters. He notified the Michigan DNR

who ticketed him and courts found him guilty. The community decided they were going to fight to have

their treaty right acknowledged and appealed the case. Ultimately their rights to hunt fish and gather were

upheld in the Fox Decision.

“Over half our member households rely on fishing for all, or a portion of their annual income. The right to

fish, and the need for a natural environment in which fish can thrive, is of the utmost importance to the

Tribe and its members, and will be fiercely protected.” —Bryan Newland

“We have that black snake going across over here. That black snake that endangers treaty rights. It

endangers our fishery, the livelihood of our people. We fished these waters for untold centuries. We’re a

part of the water; we’re a part of the earth and we ask that we continue to be a part of those in the

future. And that we continue to uphold the vision of those ancestors. It took vision for them to reserve

these rights.” — Bucko Teeple

SCAN ME

The decisions we make today should result in a sustainable world seven generations into the future. It

reminds us to understand that the decisions we make are not limited by the immediate concerns of today,

but instead have implications long after we are gone.

For more information on Bay Mills’ fishing rights,

refer to this educational video, courtesy of GLIFWC

https://youtu.be/VBIzPnETBkQ or scan the QR code

BAY MILLS BIOLOGICAL SERVICES NEWSLETTER

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11

SHUT DOWN. DECOMMISSION. REMOVE

THE BLACK SNAKE. SHUT DOWN LINE 5.

For more information on Bay Mills’ struggles, refer to

http://www.baymills.org/enbridge-portal.php or

scan the QR code

Bay Mills Indian Community

www.baymills.org

12140 Lakeshore Dr Brimley, MI 49715

This newsletter funded by the

Great Lakes Restoration

Initiative.

SCAN ME

Artwork credit: Beth LaPensee 2020