Dear Members and Friends,

Last night, the Wisconsin DNR held a public hearing on the proposed Enbridge Line 5 relocation project's draft environmental impact statement (EIS). The meeting started at 4 pm and lasted until 2:06 am - 10 hours!!! Numerous League members, partners and friends provided public oral testimony. I spoke on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Ashland and Bayfield counties. As I stated during the testimony, we are deeply disappointed in the DNR for releasing a flawed product. The document needs to be substantially re-written to include detailed analyses of risks to the ecosystems, infrastructure and financial burdens to local communities. Inaccuracies and contradictions must be reconciled. Climate impacts were ignored and need to be included. Analysis of alternatives is far from complete, and the alternative of decommissioning Line 5 is absent entirely. An overwhelming number of people spoke in opposition to the EIS in its current state.

To view the public hearing, please click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTljIAY6yJs. It does take over a minute into the recording for the hearing to start.

If you missed the hearing, you can still provide written comments. According to the DNR, written and oral testimony are weighted equally. I encourage you to read the EIS and provide your own comments. You have until March 18, 2022 to provide written public comments. If you check the DNR website, you will see a deadline of March 4, 2022, but that has been extended to the 18th as can be seen and heard in the recording. Comments can be sent by email to DNROEEACOMMENTS@WI.GOV or by U.S. mail to "Line 5 EIS Comments, DNR (EA/7)," 101 South Webster Street, Madison, WI 53707. All electronic and hardcopy comments must be submitted or postmarked no later than Friday, March 18, 2022.

I've also attached the public hearing comments I provided on behalf of our chapter as an attachment. Click here. I want to thank Joan Elias and the members of the Natural Resources Advocacy Committee for diving deep into the dEIS and providing fact-based analysis to develop our response to this document.

If reading is difficult, I've included instructions on how to have the document read to you on your computer. Open the document, look for the tool bar at the top of the page and click on the "A" as shown below. Make sure to have your computer volume on.

Have a wonderful day and stay warm!
Sue Niemi, President, League of Women Voters of Ashland and Bayfield Counties