A U.S District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in favor of Enbridge last week, marking the final conclusion of legal challenges against the oil and gas company’s Line 3 replacement. Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly determined that the pipeline’s climate change impact and its impact on Indigenous tribes’ way of life apparently fell outside of the purview of the Army Corps of Engineers’ assessment and that the agency was right to limit its review of the project.
“Defendants have the better argument,” Kollar-Kotelly wrote, arguing that the Army Corps “was not required to review effects associated with the entire pipeline—including its operation.” With logic like that, seemingly any pipeline project, replacement or otherwise, stands a chance of being approved without consideration for its long-term effects as opposed to the devastation caused by its construction in the first place. A sad outcome indeed.
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Speaking with Reuters, Earthjustice attorney Moneen Nasmith expressed his frustration with the ruling. “We are deeply disappointed that the federal court did not recognize that the U.S. Army Corps is required to assess the climate-change impacts of the millions of barrels of oil flowing through Line 3 that will dramatically increase greenhouse gasses," Nasmith said. Nasmith was one of three Earthjustice lawyers representing the plaintiffs.
The 330-mile section of Line 3 pipeline, which came online last year, replaced a corroding pipeline that previously had its flow of oil reduced over safety concerns. Allowing for new fossil fuel infrastructure goes against the community engagement efforts and public comments issued by those most impacted by Line 3 and makes the public comment periods required by the Army Corps of Engineers look like a formality at best.
Friday’s ruling made it abundantly clear that the permitting process does indeed need reforming, but certainly not what the likes of Sens. Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito are proposing. If anything, Line 3 and all other pipelines keeping the world dependent on fossil fuels should be swiftly shuttered.
Luckily, there’s still time to oppose Enbridge’s other project: the Line 5 tunnel, which would run under the Straits of Mackinac, further threatening the Great Lakes as Enbridge seeks to keep its aging pipeline in operation regardless of the environmental cost.
Abortion rights, climate change, and gun safety are all on the ballot this fall, and there are literally thousands of ways to get involved in turning our voters. Plug into a federal, state, or local campaign from our GOTV feed at Mobilize and help Democrats and progressives win in November.
State and local officials affect our lives as much as Congress. That's why we're asking you to chip $7 to these seven state supreme court candidates in three big swing states.
“Defendants have the better argument,” Kollar-Kotelly wrote, arguing that the Army Corps “was not required to review effects associated with the entire pipeline—including its operation.” With logic like that, seemingly any pipeline project, replacement or otherwise, stands a chance of being approved without consideration for its long-term effects as opposed to the devastation caused by its construction in the first place. A sad outcome indeed.
Campaign Action
Speaking with Reuters, Earthjustice attorney Moneen Nasmith expressed his frustration with the ruling. “We are deeply disappointed that the federal court did not recognize that the U.S. Army Corps is required to assess the climate-change impacts of the millions of barrels of oil flowing through Line 3 that will dramatically increase greenhouse gasses," Nasmith said. Nasmith was one of three Earthjustice lawyers representing the plaintiffs.
The 330-mile section of Line 3 pipeline, which came online last year, replaced a corroding pipeline that previously had its flow of oil reduced over safety concerns. Allowing for new fossil fuel infrastructure goes against the community engagement efforts and public comments issued by those most impacted by Line 3 and makes the public comment periods required by the Army Corps of Engineers look like a formality at best.
Friday’s ruling made it abundantly clear that the permitting process does indeed need reforming, but certainly not what the likes of Sens. Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito are proposing. If anything, Line 3 and all other pipelines keeping the world dependent on fossil fuels should be swiftly shuttered.
Luckily, there’s still time to oppose Enbridge’s other project: the Line 5 tunnel, which would run under the Straits of Mackinac, further threatening the Great Lakes as Enbridge seeks to keep its aging pipeline in operation regardless of the environmental cost.
Abortion rights, climate change, and gun safety are all on the ballot this fall, and there are literally thousands of ways to get involved in turning our voters. Plug into a federal, state, or local campaign from our GOTV feed at Mobilize and help Democrats and progressives win in November.
State and local officials affect our lives as much as Congress. That's why we're asking you to chip $7 to these seven state supreme court candidates in three big swing states.