Disparities in information access around Line 3 helps Enbridge, harms the public

Partnership for Civil Justice Fund seeks information on the ties between Enbridge, sheriff’s offices

Government transparency is critical to make the engine of democracy work. If we don’t know how and why the government makes decisions, we can’t make informed choices.

In the case of the Enbridge Line 3 pipeline, a greedy corporation and weak state regulators have scapegoated Native American water protectors and their allies as lawbreakers. Enbridge’s Line 3 construction has done more harm than the front-line activists, yet the company doesn’t face nearly the public scrutiny or penalties.

Information is power. What information is publicly available — or not available — shapes public opinion.

Law enforcement agencies put water protectors under the microscope and closely monitored their activities while state regulators allowed Enbridge to operate in the dark.

This imbalance in scrutiny is built into our public institutions’ structures.

State and federal regulators continue to treat Enbridge with kid gloves, and other Line 3 news

In this blog:

• With Line 3’s water damages still unaddressed, a growing call on state, federal authorities to hold Enbridge accountable
• Support Ron Turney, Indigenous activist documenting ongoing environmental harm along Line 3
• Truthout: Water Protectors fight trumped-up felony charges

Water protectors highlight Willow Creek frac-out, and the out-of-whackness of state Line 3 regulators and law enforcement

A government-Enbridge alliance is doing all it can to block Minnesota citizens from observing and critiquing the construction of Enbridge Line 3 tar sands pipeline.

Tania Aubid, Winona LaDuke, Shanai Matteson and other water protectors arrived around 7 a.m. this morning at the site where Enbridge is drilling a tunnel for Line 3 under the Willow River in Aitkin County. The water protectors found what appeared to be a “frac-out,” the release of pipeline drilling mud into the river.

The state’s response focused more on trying to intimidate the water protectors for their activism than addressing the frac-out, Matteson said.

It’s a sign of the state’s upside down values. It raises questions about the state’s ability and interest in protecting the environment for future generations and who state agencies are working for.