Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Enbridge Hearing Rice Lake
Enbridge Hearing Rice Lake
We will not let it happen, Dawn Goodwin at White Earth tribal hearing, Rice Lake, June 4
While the White Earth band, Honor the Earth and Mille Lacs band, as well as community members continue to be
concerned about the pipeline proposals. Additional lines, increase the risk of a spill, there is no regulation to abandon
the pipelines, and adding more compression and pipe to a delicate wetland may pose some problems.
The Polaris Institute, a Canadian research organization, reports that 804 spills occurred on Enbridge pipelines between
1999 and 2010, releasing a total of 161,000 barrels of oil into the environment. The worst occurred five years ago, when
an Enbridge pipeline ruptured and sent more than a million gallons of diluted bitumen (or dil-bit, which comes from
the tar sands mines) flowing into the Kalamazoo River. It was one of the most costly oil spills in US history. A 2012 study
sponsored by the US Department of Transportation analyzed PHMSA data and showed that the US experiences several
hundred pipeline incidents each year, some of which are catastrophic. The study concluded that the average pipeline,
in any given 10-year period, has a 57 percent chance of experiencing a major leak, with damages more than $1 million.
That ratio is a bit daunting.
In the meantime, Indigenous people and allies have engaged in strong resistance related to the proposed
Keystone XL Pipeline to date has not been approved. At the same time, have stopped the Northern Gateway
pipeline, another contentious Enbridge pipeline that was supposed to take tar sands from the mines of Alberta to
the coast of British Columbia.
Marjorie Dumont, Chief of the Tsayu Clan of the Wetsuweten Nation explains why her people opposed the Northern
Gateway project: The pipeline threatens my livelihood even before it bursts. A lot of the ecosystems are going to be
destroyed. I worry about that. I worry about the ancestors who have been buried in our territory. Thats our graveyard
and thats our dinner table. Our blood stays pure only so long as our water stays pure.I would be devastated if we were
removed from our land. It is who we are. The representatives of Enbridge have [kept coming] here for eight years. Ive
sat with them in meetings. Weve told them, No. Its not respectful to keep asking. What part of no do they not
understand?
We have the responsibility to protect all beings. We have the compassion for people and for lifeeven
what we cant see. The animals and the water..This is something that our ancestors told usthis is always
our home. Tania Aubid, Rice Lake
GANAWENJIGEDAA MANOOMIN
PROTECT THE RICE" FROM ENBRIDGE PIPELINES
_________________________
Resources:
SANDPIPER CERTIFICATE OF NEED IS DECLARATION OF WAR
Mille Lacs and White Earth Bands Fighting Pipelines That Threaten Wild Rice
White Earth Band of Ojibwe and Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe hold public hearings on proposed Enbridge
Sandpiper and Line 3 Pipelines
Enbridge has gathered extensive integrity data on Line 3 throughout its years of operation. The
integrity data shows a high number of integrity anomalies specifically, corrosion and long seam
cracking. Because of its integrity anomalies, Line 3 has experienced a number of failures during
its more than 50-year history. As a result, Line 3 requires a high level of integrity monitoring and
an extensive on-going integrity dig and repair program to maintain safe operation of the line. For
example, approximately 4,000 integrity digs in the United States alone are currently forecasted
for Line 3 over the next 15 years to maintain its current level of operation. This would result in
year-after-year impacts to landowners and the environment, and may result in repeated impacts
to the same landowners and environmental features.
If Enbridge is not required to remove the pipeline and restore the damaged ecosystems, there may
never be a full accounting of the on-going and future contamination surrounding the pipeline. This
contamination would become the responsibility of nearby landowners, if discovered. Additionally,
Enbridge has stated they plan to fill the pipelines with nitrous oxide. This would constitute an
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underground storage tank according to Minnesota statue M
innesota Statute
103I.681
When a pipeline is abandoned, above ground facilities are usually removed, while underground
segments of the pipelines may be left in place, or removed- depending on projected land-use.
While there is unclear regulations relating to the abandonment of oil pipelines, the Canadian
Energy board has a pipeline abandonment guidance document.
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/?id=103I.681
http://www.pipelineandgasjournal.com/whoownsabandonedpipelines
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http://www.pipelineandgasjournal.com/whoownsabandonedpipelines
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Subsidence:
It should be noted that tolerance to soil subsidence is in itself a site-specific issue, as it
depends on land use and the local environmental setting. Any pipeline owner/operator considering
the abandonment-in-place of a larger-diameter pipeline should therefore conduct a site specific
analysis in order to evaluate both the degree and tolerability of any long-term subsidence that
might be expected.
Operators should also have an understanding of the composition of pipe coatings and their
associated characteristics to assess any potential risk that may be derived from abandoning the
pipeline in place.
This issue can be related to the concern for contamination and the protection of wetland
systems. If water infiltrates the pipeline, the potential exists for that water to carry any
residual contaminants left in the abandoned pipeline to some point of exit. The point of exit
could be a watercourse, thereby contaminating the watercourse if contaminant levels are
sufficiently great in volume and concentration at the point of exit. The possibility of soil
contamination may also exist, depending on the nature of the contaminant transported
through the pipeline
During Line 3 hearings, abandonment concerns must be raised. This would be a significant concern
to the Anishinaabe, and long term jurisdictional issues should be discussed with regards to a
limited liability corporation.
https://docs.nebone.gc.ca/lleng/llisapi.dll/fetch/2000/90463/501473/501488/501198/515103/A1F2Z4__TNS_Tech_
Guidelines_on_Abandonment_(r12)_April_10_07_JKK.pdf?_gc_lang=en&nodeid=515104&vernum=0&redirect=3