Enbridge’s Line 3 poses a significant risk to the health of Minnesota’s local environment and communities. Additionally, it will intensely increase the state’s carbon emissions in the face of the global climate crisis. We at MN350 find this unacceptable.
Environment
- Enbridge has a history of pipeline-borne spills such as the one on Michigan’s Kalamazoo River in 2010. Seven years and $1 billion later, residents report that the river still has oil on the bottom.
- Line 3 will cross critical wetlands and 200+ additional bodies of water, including the Mississippi River, twice.
- An area in Alberta of land roughly the size of Florida will be destroyed for tar sands oil extraction.
- Enbridge’s “replacement” will abandon the current pipeline, as is, risking additional toxin contamination from corrosion and leftover crude oil and cleaning materials.
Oil spill on the Kalamazoo river in 2010
Community Health
- Crude oil contains over 1,000 chemicals, including harmful carcinogens like benzene.
- Line 3 threatens native culture and livelihoods by crossing Ojibwe territory, where native people have the right to live off the land.
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Construction of the similar Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. Image credit: 350.org
There are 20 wild rice lakes within just one mile of Line 3 where many native people harvest this sacred food. In fact, thanks to Enbridge, this type of contamination has already happened to Nottawaseppi people along the Kalamazoo spill site.
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Carbon Impact
- Line 3 will double the flow of the old pipeline it is replacing, up to 370,000 more barrels of oil a day.
- The additional oil transported through Line 3 is the equivalent of the total CO2 daily emissions of 16- 18 million cars, every year the pipeline operates.
- According to the State of MN, Line 3 has an estimated cost to society of $287 billion in climate change related damage over 30 years.
You can get more involved with the fight against Enbridge and line 3 by joining our Pipeline Resistance Team to help plan protests, canvasses, and other activities all over the state, or by simply signing our Pledge of Resitance below!
