Enbridge Line 5 is Michigan’s next ecological disaster
I personally doubt Enbridge plans to build the tunnel. The expense to tunnel under the Straits to keep Line 5 running to Canada, the eventual destination for most of the petroleum liquids, is high. The price of petroleum products is declining, as we move to alternative energy. The company can simply reroute the products through existing pipelines that run around Lake Michigan and through the Lower Peninsula at minimal cost.
Regardless, it will take years to build this tunnel. That’s why the members of the Chippewa Ottawa Resource Authority, representing tribes whose members’ fishing culture would be devastated by Line 5 rupture, call on the state and for Enbridge to shut down the pipeline immediately, to prevent another Edenville Dam situation.
The warning signs are similar. The potential for economic damage is even higher. Experts have run models that suggest a major pipeline break could spread oil from near Petoskey to close to Alpena and leave floating tar balls even further. The northern Michigan tourism economy would be devastated. Fishing in the region would be halted, hurting our tribal economies and those of other commercial fishing operations. It would make the Edenville disaster look small.
Just as lawmakers are asking tough questions after the fact about regulatory foot-dragging involving our many dams, it’s time for them to step up and make the tough decision to close Line 5 under the Straits, despite the many thousands of dollars Enbridge has contributed to their campaigns and spent on public relations stunts.
If we fail to heed the warnings, as federal and state officials did with the Edenville Dam, the damage may not be to those living along one river. It could mean devestation throughout Michigan’s crown jewels, the Great Lakes.
Bryan Newland is chairperson of the Bay Mills Indian Community and a board member of the Chippewa Ottawa Resource Authority.