SAULT STE. MARIE — The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians announced that it has joined tribal governments to withdraw from the federal Environmental Impact Statement process for Enbridge’s Line 5 tunnel project.
Tribe officials state they had been an active participant as a cooperating agency in the EIS process, providing extensive feedback and emphasizing the project’s threats to the Straits of Mackinac — a region of profound cultural, environmental and economic significance to the Anishinaabeg people and Michiganders throughout the region.
“The decision to rush through the Line 5 approval process undermines our sovereignty and disregards the environmental and cultural risks associated with the tunnel project,” Sault Tribe Chairman Austin Lowes said.
Lowes emphasized that the USACE’s recent actions have marginalized the Tribe’s input and compromised the integrity of the consultation process.
Officials add it’s also unclear how the Line 5 tunnel project, which provides oil and natural gas almost exclusively to Canada, fits with the intent of the Trump Administration’s Executive Order to ease energy costs on American citizens.