With the Trump administration’s resurrection of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) and the Keystone XL, environmental activists and Sioux water protectors are remobilizing for “mass resistance.” The Standing Rock protesters, as perhaps the nation’s most notable activists, are far from alone. Legal battles against lesser-known pipelines are escalating, too, particularly in the upper Midwest.

In Wisconsin, the Bad River Band, part of the Lake Superior Chippewa Tribe, has taken aim at the Canadian oil giant Enbridge. The Bad River Tribal Council voted in January to evict Enbridge’s Line 5 from tribal lands, arguing that the pipeline’s age poses a significant threat to tribal lands and water supplies.

“A 64-year-old pipe in the ground is not something we're prepared to leave behind for future generations,” Council member Dylan Jennings told the Associated Press. The eviction comes on the heels of the tribe’s refusal to renew easements in 2013 as concerns mounted over the safety of Line 5 and the transparency of Enbridge’s safety reviews.

The Bad River Band’s eviction of Enbridge makes them the latest of several Native American groups opposing the expansion or operation of oil pipelines on tribal land.

Despite Enbridge’s assurances that Line 5 can be “safely operated indefinitely,” independent assessments have corroborated the tribe’s concern. A recent investigation by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel found that at the Straits of Mackinac, where the pipeline travels underwater for five miles, Enbridge had reinforced the pipeline supports 66 times between 2001 and 2006 alone, including one urgently approved repair described as “emergency preventative work.”

The same investigation estimated that if Line 5 ruptured underwater, 700 miles of Great Lakes shorelines could be affected, thanks in part to the Straits' notoriously uneven currents.

Politicians in Michigan are also taking note of the environmental risks associated with the aging Enbridge line. State legislators have formed a bipartisan coalition led by Dave Trott (R- Birmingham) and Debbie Dingell (D- Dearborn) to assess the condition of the pipeline at the Straits of Mackinac. If the independent review of the pipeline deems it unsafe to operate, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) will shut down the pipeline indefinitely.

Michigan’s year-long assessment of Line 5, along with the Bad River line eviction, represents another setback in a series of difficulties for Enbridge. Throughout 2016, Enbridge battled lawsuits against Dane County, which contains the state capitol, and central Wisconsin residents that would see its Line 61 coupled with a special “cleanup” insurance to the tune of $25 million. Landowners in rural Columbus County have also pledged not to sell land to Enbridge for the expansion of Line 61, citing environmental concerns.

Wisconsin residents worried about potential spills can also look east to Michigan where an Enbridge line burst in 2010. The line, which carried a syrup-thick oil called bitumen, ruptured just outside the town of Marshall, in southwest Michigan. The spill clogged 36 miles of the Kalamazoo River with more than 1 million gallons of oil just days after Enbridge filed for an extension on potential repairs to the line.

A Future of Pipeline Battles

Considering the Trump administration’s affinity for pipeline construction and infrastructure, it appears likely that the states and federal government are set to square off on the issue. But what does this local and state opposition do to the Trump administration’s calls for more pipelines?

Not much, according to political scientist Michael Kraft, professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, who said, “the new administration is not going to be as concerned about the environmental impact of any fossil fuel developments. We can talk about pipelines, but it’s not just pipelines. Its oil and gas drilling on public lands, or offshore.”

This commitment to fossil fuel infrastructure shouldn’t be surprising, though. Kraft pointed out Sarah Palin’s infamous “drill, baby, drill” as an example of the Republican Party’s longstanding promise for domestic oil production. Much has changed since Palin’s 2008 declaration, though. While pipeline projects will enjoy federal support, Kraft pointed to several factors making future projects difficult, the least of which is the current oil market.

“The price of oil is so low, I’m not sure it’s worth building the rest of the Keystone pipeline,” Kraft said, adding that “major corporations and utilities today recognize that the price of wind and solar have been dropping massively.”

Protests and media attention to pipeline projects have slowed their progress, too. Kraft defended the use pipelines over rail shipping, citing rail’s significantly worse safety record, but argued that increased scrutiny puts pressure on oil companies to be transparent and accountable.

“The pipeline companies would be foolish if they didn’t apply the very best construction and monitoring, because the last thing they need is another major spill. It’s kind of a subtle consequence: even if the projects go ahead, the question is, will they use the best quality construction [and] adopt the most rigorous technological monitoring to make sure there is never a spill that cannot be stopped quickly?”

Enbridge, for instance, is set to spend $3.6 million on the assessment of Line 5’s Great Lakes crossing. The company also keeps staff within sight of the pipeline, ready should the worst case scenario become reality. For activists fighting for a safer environment, these gestures are small victories in the larger struggle for environmental justice.

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