Aug 30, 2017 - Six Arrested Protesting Pipeline Construction in Wisconsin
For Immediate Release:
Today, 6 water protectors were arrested in Douglas County, Wisconsin, while engaging in peaceful non-violent direct action to stop construction of the Line 3 pipeline project.
One water protector locked his body to construction equipment, while dozens of water protectors provided support and protection via media. When police arrived onsite, they gave a 10 minute warning, but immediately began arrests, targeting anyone holding a camera or cellphone. One water protector was pulled out of a vehicle while attempting to comply with dispersal orders.
Line 3 is a proposed Enbridge tar sands line from Alberta, Canada, that will send nearly 900,000 barrels of tar sands per day through the headwaters of the Mississippi River to the shores of Lake Superior. After years of fighting environmental review in the courts, Enbridge was forced to engage in an Environmental Impact Statement in the state of Minnesota. Public hearings are scheduled for the coming months, with a final decision scheduled for Spring 2018.
Despite lacking approval in Minnesota, Enbridge has begun construction of Line 3 in Wisconsin and Canada. Indigenous resistance is growing daily, with the formation of several frontlines camps. Landowners in Wisconsin are currently suing Enbridge for failure to comply with state insurance requirements, in Dane County v. Enbridge.
While locked to a machine, Alexander Good-Cane-Milk (Yankton Sioux Tribe) said, “We are the change…we want clean water, clean air, clean earth.”
Watch live stream of lock down here
Learn more about Line 3 at: Honor the Earth Stop Line 3
Contact:
Patricia Hammel, Attorney Licensed in Wisconsin, (608) 279-4136, attyhammel@herricklaw.net
Holly Bird, MI Water Protectors Task Force: (231)392-2491, michwaterprotectorslegal@gmail.com
Tara Houska, Honor the Earth: (612)226-9404, tara@honorearth.org