MADISON, Wis. — Citizens from Milwaukee to Madison to Stevens Point, who wanted to voice their concerns about Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline, boarded a bus early Tuesday morning and headed for Ashland, where the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers held a public hearing on an Environmental Assessment for a proposed reroute of the pipeline that will be released soon.
Many who took the trip said they were worried about potential spills and the impact on the Bad River watershed.
“We’re taking the trip up to Ashland today because it affects the water of millions of Wisconsinites, and really people all over the Midwest because it impacts the Great Lakes, but especially the health of the Bad River Band Tribe,” Abby Novinska-Lois, who serves as executive director of Healthy Climate Wisconsin, explained.
Several of those who made the trip also said they worry the draft environmental assessment by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers doesn’t go far enough and had hoped to prove a reroute of the pipeline, which has been in the works for a decade, should not be permitted.
“We know that tar sands oil, when it spills, is harder to clean up, and in Kalamazoo, when we did have an Enbridge pipeline spill, the Michigan Health Department reported reproductive problems, neurological issues, respiratory symptoms,” Novinska-Lois added.
However, it’s not just potential spills. Upholding sovereignty rights of the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians is the focus for Xanthe Saalmann, who just graduated from high school.
For her, the trip from Madison was about helping the people who live the closest to the pipeline.
“Going up there will allow us to have a voice and say and amplify the voice of the locals and indigenous people up in Ashland, Wisconsin,” Saalmann said. “And so, it’s a very important trip where we can make our voices heard and, especially as a young person, I can make my voice heard up there.”
While there may be plenty of concerns, there was a strong sense of community too for those on the bus.
“I feel there are not enough moments in life where we get to spend time with community and we’re all here to really make a difference and protect our water, protect the people of Wisconsin,” Novinska-Lois said.