President Trump, in one of his over a hundred executive orders, declared America to be in a “National Energy Emergency.” In one of his impromptu Oval Office press conferences, when asked about the tariffs he was about to place on Canada and how it would affect oil prices, he said twice, not just once, “America doesn’t need Canadian oil.” Then, in a 180-degree about-face, he gave permission to the Army Corps of Engineers to “fast-track” the permitting process for Enbridge to build a tunnel under the Straits of Mackinac!

Trump’s goal of allowing fast-tracking was to increase domestic energy production. Well, folks, fast-tracking a tunnel under the Straits doesn’t increase energy production at all, and definitely doesn’t boost domestic production simply because the product going through Line 5 is foreign, not domestic crude oil and natural gas liquids. All this makes it crystal clear that other factors, mostly political, are at work here, and Trump is basically telling all Michiganders he is going to take us for a ride.

In fact, those are the very words Trump used in his 100-Day rally in Michigan this week. He said that the federal employees who were allowed to work from home were “taking us for a ride.”

If someone implies they are taking you for a ride, it means they are going to trick you, to fool or take advantage of you. Well, buckle up your seat belts, because Trump, the Army Corps of Engineers, and Enbridge are taking us all down a fast-track ride of deception. Fast-tracking shortens the environmental review process and reduces the time allowed for public comments on the tunnel project. How is it possible for Trump to say we don’t need Canadian oil and then fast-track a project that won’t increase energy production by a single drop?

If ever there was a project that needed a comprehensive environmental review, evaluating all the possible ramifications, risks, and dangers, this one is it!

We are talking about the Great Lakes here. They hold 80% of the world’s fresh surface water. The Straits are a major shipping lane. The economic value of tourism, fishing, and recreation are measured in the billions of dollars. Forty million people depend on the Great Lakes for drinking water. Nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, should be shortened, truncated, overlooked, and never fast-tracked.

You might ask why not hurry up and get a tunnel built. You might say a tunnel is safer than pipes lying on the lakebed. Good observations, but one has to look further into this. Let’s do that.

First, consider Line 5 is 645 miles long, running from Superior, Wisconsin, to Sarnia, Ontario. It supplies Canadian oil primarily to Canadian refineries. The pipeline is 72 years old and has leaked 33 times, spilling over a million gallons of oil. Enbridge has a disastrous environmental track record. They have had 103 environmental violations in the last 25 years, which averages one environmental violation every three months. Enbridge allowed one of their pipelines, Line 6B, to rupture in Kalamazoo in 2010, spilling over a million gallons into the Kalamazoo River. And we are supposed to trust Enbridge with the preservation and protection of the Great Lakes? Are you kidding me?

During Trump’s visit to Michigan this week, he said over and over again how he loved Michigan and Michiganders. That is hypocritical. Every single Michigander knows that the Great Lakes are not only one of the greatest and most valuable natural resources on the planet, but they are the single most valuable natural resource in Michigan and have been for the last 10,000 years!

I say to President Donald Trump, “If you really do love Michigan, there is no way you would ever allow a foreign corporation to dig a risky tunnel under the Straits of Mackinac, which is owned by the people of Michigan. Under the Public Trust Doctrine, it is the people who own the lake bed, and the state of Michigan is our trustee, charged with the preservation of the people’s land for generations to come.”

I would add, “President Trump, you simply cannot turn your back on Michiganders by allowing Enbridge to in any way put the Great Lakes at risk just to continue to pump Canadian oil through Michigan on its way to Canadian refineries in Sarnia, Ontario. We can move a pipeline. We cannot move the Great Lakes.”

I would end by saying, “Mr. President, you said federal employees working from home were ‘taking us for a ride.’ Well, let me remind you that you are a federal employee, working from home, and the people of Michigan are not going along for the ride and are not going to get run over by allowing you to put the Great Lakes in great peril. Take this risky tunnel off the fast track now!”

And readers, tell me how fast-tracking this tunnel will increase domestic energy production, which is the single reason Trump gave us in his declaration of an “Energy Emergency.” I need to know at gregawtry@awtry.com.