NATIVE AMERICAN NEWS!
“Back 40” Sulfide Mine Permit Denied: “A Win for Wetlands”
MARQUETTE, MI – Regional environmental groups are celebrating the news that a disputed Wetlands Permit for Aquila Resources’ Back Forty sulfide mine has been denied by a Michigan Administrative Law Judge, concluding a two year review of the contested case. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (now the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy) sparked controversy when it approved Aquila’s Wetlands Permit in 2018, over the objections of regulatory staff who were prepared to deny the permit.
The permit was contested by multiple petitioners, including an adjacent landowner, the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, represented by Earthjustice attorneys, and the grassroots Coalition to SAVE the Menominee River. According to Earthjustice attorney Janette Brimmer, Aquila “refused to provide all of the information the state needed to determine the full environmental impacts the mine will have on the Menominee River and the surrounding area.”
YOU ARE INVITED TO JOIN THE CONVERSATION!
Join UPEC's upcoming Livestream Event "A WIN FOR WETLANDS" to learn more about this important environmental legal decision. "A WIN FOR WETLANDS" will offer a panel discussion featuring Al Gedicks of the Wisconsin Resources Protection Council, Dale Burie of the Coalition to Save the Menominee, Guy Reiter of Menikanaehkem, and Kathleen Heideman of the Mining Action Group.
The event will take place on Thursday, January 14, 2020, at 7 pm EST, livestreamed via Facebook and Zoom. Connect using these links:
Meeting ID: 831 1343 8020
Passcode: 2021
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Peace Action WI member, Sarah Little Redfeather, left, protesting Line 3 Tar SandsPipelineFirst day of Kwanzaa. Join us!
DECEMBER 30, 2020
Two Ojibwe bands have petitioned the Minnesota Court of Appeals to suspend state regulators' approval of Enbridge's new Line 3 and stop construction of the controversial pipeline across northern Minnesota.
By Mike Hughlett Star Tribune
The petition filed late Tuesday by the Red Lake Band of Chippewa and the White Earth Band of Ojibwe is the second such filing in the past week by pipeline opponents to shut down construction on the $2.6 billion pipeline. Enbridge earlier this month started work on the replacement for the aging and corroding current Line 3 earlier this month.
The two bands — plus the Sierra Club and the Indigenous environmental group Honor the Earth — last week sued the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., asking for a preliminary injunction to stop construction of Line 3.
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC), the state's primary pipeline regulator, approved Line 3 in February after nearly six years of review.
"The tribes anticipate that this court would issue a final order in approximately July 2021, at which time construction will likely be complete or nearly complete, such that in the event of reversal tribes would not obtain the relief they seek," Red Lake and White Earth said in legal filing.
Calgary-based Enbridge expects to complete construction by the end of September. Over 3,000 workers already are building the 340-mile pipeline.
In a court filing, the tribes said that without a stay, "their treaty-protected interests in the land, waters, plants, animals and environment" would be destroyed or damaged by construction — as would their cultural and religious rights.
The pipeline's potential to degrade lakes, rivers and streams would harm "Native Americans' spiritual connectedness to water, a sacred element to native culture," the filing said.
STOP THE LINE 3 PIPELINE
Protests Continue by Native Americans and Water Protector Allies
Join us to protect our water, land, and culture: StopLine3.org
For more information
welcomewaterprotectors.com
STOPLINE3.org
Giniw Collective
Where are we? Visit >> www.welcomewaterprotectors.com/thegreatriver shows the map and welcome center locations - Pray for the Great River
OnJan 9, 2021, water protectors walked on to multiple Line 3 construction sites, and successfully stopped construction at one of these sites.
They were also bearing witness to the destruction (done by Enbridge) of a cultural and sacred ground that local water protectors have used for ceremonies known as Grandma's Table.
These construction sites were all on the Fond Du Lac Reservation, and protectors were led by Taysha Martineau, a member of the Fond Du Lac band. The water protectors were being followed from site to site by police, giving a prime example of how Enbridge is working with the police to build this destructive pipeline.
Last week, two blockades were erected ten miles apart on a road into the wetlands of Savanna State Forest, blocking access to construction of the Line 3 tar sands pipeline.
The silence continues from the Walz administration as Enbridge bulldozes through Anishinaabe territory and water protectors face arrest.
Our numbers are growing. Today, Jan 9, 2021, 250-300 water protectors gathered in Aitkin County MN to #stopline3 starting with a #jingledressdance for healing
And an action to interrupt the laying of old pipe because #waterislife and we care about #futuregenerations
Several were arrested and now must spend the weekend in the Aitkin county jail which is ridiculous for a misdemeanor.
Tell @mngovernor #timwalz to #stopline3
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