Line 3 Resistance has continued in Minnesota and around the Country

Over the past three weeks Line 3 resistance has continued in Minnesota and around the country.

Since our last weekly recap…

The harm Line 3 has already caused Minnesota’s land and waters became more clear…

• The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced that it had ordered Enbridge Energy to pay $3.32 million for breaching an aquifer during construction last winter.  Their failure to follow environmental laws on that occasion resulted in millions of gallons of groundwater flowing out of the aquifer, posing a risk to rare wetlands nearby. Watch a statement from Winona LaDuke about the incident here.

• The extent of damage at the Headwaters of the Mississippi River from spills of drilling mud during construction, often called “frac outs” is still being uncovered. Recent photos and videos by an independent media maker show significant devastation across the sensitive wetland ecosystem.

Financial institutions faced mounting pressure to defund Line 3 and similar projects

• The world’s largest industrial insurance company, Chubb, announced that it would no longer insure tar sands infrastructure projects like Line 3. Chubb is the latest in a series of insurance companies that have revoked their funding in response to climate justice activism against the Trans Mountain Pipeline. As a result of the shrinking pool of companies willing to insure these projects, Enbridge has reported concerns about their ability to acquire the requisite coverage for Line 3 in the future.
• Taysha Martineau, an Anishinaabe two-spirit leader with the movement to stop Line 3 declined the 30 Under 30 Climate Activist Award from NYC Climate Week, calling out the event’s sponsorship by Wells Fargo and Bank of America. In a statement she said, “I must humbly decline any award as both these banks fund the very pipeline that is harming my people.” Watch an interview with Taysha about her decision here.

Resistance continued on the frontlines

• Water protectors with Camp Migizi have been using boats to halt work at Line 3 hydrostatic testing facilities. Watch footage of this tactic in action earlier this month.
• The Giniw Collective shut down a major U.S.-Canadian tar sands terminal through non-violent direct action. The group staged multiple blockades to cut off all access to the Clearbrook terminal.
• In response to the news that Enbridge breached an aquifer, causing significant harm to surrounding wetland ecosystems, Winona LaDuke led the 8th annual Horse “Ride Against the Current of Oil” to the site of that incident to pray for the water. (Photos here)

Local and national elected officials continued to call on President Biden to Stop Line 3

• Read this recent op-ed by tribal leaders from the Red Lake Nation, Bay Mills Indian Community, Oglala Sioux Tribe, and Lower Sioux Indian Community: President and Army Corps of Engineers must halt Line 3.
• Invoking President Biden’s recent comment about the climate, the White Earth Nation authored a statement entitled CODE RED: President Biden, DNR and Gov. Walz unwilling to stop Line 3 waters and wetlands contaminations.