Line 3 opponents deliver letter to White House

A group of Indigenous and environmental organizations based in Minnesota and nationwide delivered a letter to the White House Tuesday urging President Joe Biden to take action on Enbridge’s Line 3 oil pipeline.

The 337-mile Line 3 pipeline began carrying oil on Oct. 1. The letter from pipeline opponents comes the day after more than 100 people received citations for blocking traffic during a rally outside the White House as part of the weeklong “People vs. Fossil Fuels” campaign.

Local letter signers include Honor the Earth, MN350, TakeAction Minnesota and CAIR-Minnesota. Cleaning product company Seventh Generation, Earthjustice and Indigenous Environmental Network also signed on.

“You have declared a code red climate emergency, stating that ‘the nation and the world are in peril.’  We agree,” the letter to Biden says. “It is past time to act in accordance with your declaration.”

Pipeline opponents are pushing for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — which issued a key permit for the project — to conduct its own environmental review, and to halt operation of the pipeline in the meantime.

Opponents say the federal agency didn’t adequately consider the potential effects of leaks and the project’s effects on climate change; the U.S. Army Corps has argued its approval was the product of a yearslong process that met all review requirements.

Several state agencies published an environmental impact statement in 2019.