Amicus Briefs (also known as “friend of the court” briefs) in support of Nessel’s position were filed by 12 states and the District of Columbia, 63 Tribal and First Nations, the Great Lakes Business Network (a network of over 200 businesses that rely on the Great Lakes including Bell’s Brewery, Patagonia, and Cherry Republic), and an environmental group committed to protecting the Great Lakes known as For Love Of Water.
Enbridge Energy
U.S. (EPA) v. Enbridge Energy, Limited Partnership
White Earth Nation/Honor the Earth Effort to Fight Enbridge Pipelines Fails
Here are the materials in White Earth Nation v. Kerry (D. Minn.):
90 Enbridge Motion for Summary J
Complaint here.
Article on Enbridge Pipelines and Lawsuit Against Judge Botsford in North Dakota
Here.
[James] Botsford, a North Dakota farm owner, learned that in September 2013, when Enbridge informed him that the company was seeking a temporary restraining order against him. Botsford, who is also an attorney and a Supreme Court judge for the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, had tried to prevent Enbridge from surveying his land for the Sandpiper’s possible route. Botsford, who strongly opposes the pipeline’s construction, believed that the survey would be “the camel’s nose under the tent.” He attempted to refuse the company access to his farm.
“To that, they basically said, ‘We’re Enbridge, we don’t go around anything, we go through it,’ ” says Botsford.
Enbridge got its restraining order, forcing Botsford to allow the company to complete the survey. The pipeline’s route, Botsford believes, was “basically already a done deal,” and he soon heard from the company again. This time, Enbridge wanted Botsford to grant him an easement—a legal right to use another’s property for a specific purpose, in this case the construction and maintenance of a pipeline. After Botsford refused, twice, to sign an easement agreement, the company filed a civil suit against him in June.
Gofundme link to the Botsford defense here.
White Earth Nation Moves for Summary Judgment in Challenge to Two Oil Pipelines
Here is the motion in White Earth Nation v. Kerry (D. Minn.):
We posted the complaint here.
White Earth Nation v. Kerry — NEPA Challenge to International Pipeline
Here is the complaint, filed in the District of Minnesota:
News Coverage of Honor the Earth Arguing For a Voice in Pipeline Route in Front of Minnesota ALJ
Here.
Attorneys for the company contend that the commission has no business
deciding the meaning of federal treaties. Even so, much of the two-hour discussion before Judge Eric Lipman focused on 10 treaties signed between 1825 and 1864 by Minnesota Indian tribes.
“It would represent a dramatic departure from the commission’s precedent and would significantly impact not just pipeline projects but all large energy projects sited in northern Minnesota,” said Christine Brusven, an attorney for the Calgary-based pipeline company that’s proposing to build the 610-mile pipeline to carry North Dakota oil.
Headed for the courts?
Lipman, who is overseeing the regulatory review of the pipeline, is expected to rule on the treaty rights question, but the final decision rests with the Public Utilities Commission. The issue ultimately could land in federal court.
H/T Jean O’Brien
Turtle Talk 