Gabby Brown, gabby.brown@sierraclub.org
Washington, DC -- Today, the Biden administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a brief defending the Trump administration’s position on Line 3 in a federal lawsuit challenging a key permit for the controversial tar sands pipeline project.
The lawsuit, filed by the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, the Red Lake Band of Chippewa, Honor the Earth, and the Sierra Club in federal district court in Washington, DC, challenged the US Army Corps of Engineers’ decision to issue a permit for Line 3 without preparing an environmental impact statement. Under the Trump administration, the Army Corps issued the permit despite admitting that they had not considered the project’s climate implications or its impact on tribal resources.
Frontline communities and advocates nationwide have called on President Biden to break with the Trump administration’s support for the massive tar sands pipeline by directing the Army Corps to revisit its permit. Instead, DOJ’s motion defended the issuance of the permit.
In response, Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune released the following statement:
“Today’s action by the Biden administration is a massive, tar sands pipeline-sized missed opportunity to break with the Trump administration’s pro-polluter agenda and stand on the side of Indigenous rights and climate justice. Allowing Line 3 to move forward is, at best, inconsistent with the bold promises on climate and environmental justice President Biden campaigned and was elected on. As Enbridge barrels ahead with construction, time is running out for Biden to stop them from doing permanent damage to critical water resources, trampling on tribal sovereignty, and polluting our climate. The president must listen to frontline communities, defend the right of all people to clean water and a healthy climate, and act immediately to shut down this dirty tar sands pipeline.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.