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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Enbridge, a Canadian pipeline company, has
3pipelines running through Illinois carrying crude oil and tar
4sands oil; this poses a risk of leaks and spills to the towns
5and cities, the farms and waterways, and the wetlands of
6Illinois and to Illinois residents; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Enbridge was responsible for the 2010 Kalamazoo
8Oil Spill in Michigan, the largest inland oil spill in the
9United States, and while it claims that it has fully cleaned up
10the spill, local residents say that the river is toxic and
11unsafe for fishing and for all the recreational uses that they
12enjoyed before the 2010 spill; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Enbridge has a history of 800 other spills,
14including the 2010 spill in the Village of Romeoville,
15litigation about which is still ongoing; and
 
16    WHEREAS, The Illinois Commerce Commission has given
17Enbridge a certificate of "good standing" to expand and build
18additional sections of pipeline, using the rationale that the
19citizens of Illinois urgently need the oil that Enbridge is
20transporting; and
 
21    WHEREAS, The notion that the citizens of Illinois urgently

 

 

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1need the oil that Enbridge is transporting is belied by the
2fact that a large portion of that oil is being refined and
3exported to other countries; and
 
4    WHEREAS, The decision that a constant supply of oil is a
5"public good" is further belied by the looming threat of
6climate change and the impending climate crisis; and
 
7    WHEREAS, The public good of the citizens of Illinois would
8be better served by massive investments in renewable energy and
9conservation; and
 
10    WHEREAS, The certificate of "good standing" gives Enbridge
11the right to use Illinois courts to demand that landowners give
12it easements to put new sections of pipeline across their lands
13and to use eminent domain to force the landowners to comply on
14terms largely favorable to Enbridge; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Enbridge is using that power of eminent domain in
16a bullying fashion, forcing landowners who do not want that
17pipeline to accept the pipeline and Enbridge's terms for it;
18therefore, be it
 
19    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
20HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
21urge Enbridge and any other pipeline company transporting

 

 

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1fossil fuels to have an environmental impact study conducted by
2a third-party scientific organization with no ties to the
3industry before they lay any new section of pipe and before any
4section of existing pipe begins to transport tar sands oil or
5natural gas extracted by fracking; and be it further
 
6    RESOLVED, That any environmental impact study must include
7the long-term impact of burning fossil fuels on the looming
8climate crisis; and be it further
 
9    RESOLVED, That Enbridge and any other pipeline company must
10be held fully responsible for any environmental damages caused
11by leaks or spills or for agricultural damage to the farms
12through which their pipelines pass.