Supporters & Collaborators

White Earth Reservation, Honor The Earth, RISE Coalition, MN350, and Sierra Club North Star Chapter collaboration.
On November 26-27, 2021, just weeks after Enbridge began flowing Tar Sands through their new Line 3/93 pipeline, our Flyover Partners performed a fixed-wing flyover of the entire corridor with thermal imaging rated to 0.3°C/0.25m capability.

Waadookawaad Amikwag would not be able to provide the water testing and scientific analysis without the generous and gracious support of the Center for Applied Environmental Science. Alongside a grant from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, providing equipment and technical support for a flurry of Summer 2023 field community science work, Waadookawaad Amikwag has been able to make extensive progress in our documentation of Enbridge Line 3/93 damage sites. We are ever grateful for these critical funding and collaborative relationship opportunities.

Downstream Strategies worked with WV Rivers Coalition to publish a report analyzing inspection reports of the Mountain Valley Pipeline stream and wetland crossings in West Virginia. The report summarizes the findings of this analysis and the environmental effects on West Virginia streams and wetlands.

When Waadookawaad Amikwag began our work in 2021, just after Enbridge’s Line 3/93 pipeline began flowing oil, CAES granted us technical assistance from Downstream Strategies in West Virginia. Early on, we found their Pipeline Impacts to Water Quality report (2019). We wondered how this technical reporting might have helped us prevent the environmental damages we now see across Northern Minnesota since Enbridge’s installation.

In November 2024, West Virginia Rivers and Downstream Strategies summarized pre-construction and post-project inspection reports for 139 stream crossings and 61 wetland crossings by Mountain Valley Pipeline. The results were disturbing. Despite meeting requirements for best management practices, post-project inspections showed significant impacts to biological conditions.

Only 6% of stream crossings showed no degradation, while 88% showed a decrease of biological conditions in the riparian buffer zone. Many crossings showed significant decreases in scores with channel conditions being most impacted, bringing concerns for erosion and sedimentation.

Wetland soils were impacted at 89% of crossings with diminished vegetation resulting at 70% of crossings. These changes reduce the ability of wetlands to slow water flow, prevent erosion, and capturing sediment and nutrients. Such hydrologic and biologic disturbances show pipeline construction is as big a concern as any oil spills to follow.

“Even when ‘enhanced’ erosion control measures are in place, this report documents the destructive nature of pipeline construction,” said Mariah Clay, Southern WV Coordinator at WV Rivers Coalition. Clay continued, “Healthy streams and wetlands are vital to the region’s biodiversity, water quality, and resilience to climate impacts. The damage documented shows an urgent need for sustained monitoring, restoration, and accountability.” 

Watch the WV Rivers Webinar for a full update of the findings. And read the full report to understand the impacts to land and water.

Minnesota government should do right by its people and protect our communities and natural resources—not polluting companies.

We support the People Not Polluters website bringing awareness to the ongoing degradation of the world around us, especially in vulnerable places and impacting already vulnerable communities. Some specifics regarding Line 3 and Dewatering are shown here.

We encourage you to visit PeopleNotPolluters.com for more details on these concerns and to learn more about the many other places we need a focused attention on protecting People, not Polluters.

Learn more about the People Not Polluters work at our Take Action Page!!

Our October Webinar was a huge success! Learn more at People Not Polluters.