Michigan attorney general wants pipeline shut down
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Michigan’s attorney general on Thursday called for shutting down twin oil pipelines beneath the waterway where Lakes Huron and Michigan meet, as the state released a consultant’s report outlining alternative scenarios for the future of oil transport in the ecologically sensitive tourist destination.
Republican Bill Schuette said a “specific and definite timetable” should be established for decommissioning the nearly 5-mile-long section of Enbridge’s Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac, which environmental groups want removed but the Canadian pipeline company insists is in good shape.
“The safety and security of our Great Lakes is etched in the DNA of every Michigan resident,” Schuette said, adding that “the final decision on Line 5 needs to include a discussion with those that rely on propane for heating their homes, and depend on the pipeline for employment.”
The segment is part of Enbridge’s Lakehead network, which transports oil and liquid natural gas to markets in the U.S. Midwest, East Coast and eastern Canada. Line 5 runs underground from Superior, Wis., across Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to the straits area, where it divides into two 20-inch pipes that rest on the lake floor. It continues south through the state’s Lower Peninsula to Sarnia, Ontario, carrying 23 million gallons of light crude and liquid natural gas daily.
Enbridge’s reaction
Enbridge, based in Calgary, Alberta, says the pipeline delivers crucial supplies of oil for gasoline, propane and other refined products and is closely monitored.
“After more than 60 years in service, Line 5 is in outstanding operating condition because of the rigorous maintenance done through the decades,” said John Gauderman, director of operations for the Great Lakes region. “We intend to keep it that way.”
Critics say the underwater section of Line 5, in place since 1953, has been buffeted by strong currents and shows signs of wear. They note that Enbridge offered similar assurances before another of its pipelines ruptured in southern Michigan in 2010, fouling the Kalamazoo River in one of the nation’s largest inland oil spills.
Schuette said in a news release that he “strongly disagrees” with a suggestion in the report by the engineering consulting firm Dynamic Risk Assessment Systems that Line 5 could operate indefinitely.
Running for governor?
Environmental activists said the attorney general, who is expected to run for governor next year and has said previously that Line 5’s “days are certainly numbered,” should prove he means business by ordering a shutdown. Although the federal government regulates oil pipelines, Michigan owns the straits area Great Lakes bottomlands and could revoke an easement it granted to Enbridge when Line 5 was installed, said Liz Kirkwood, director of For Love of Water.
“He has the authority to act now, and we want him to act now,” said David Holtz, chairman of the Sierra Club’s Michigan chapter.
The Michigan League of Conservation Voters dismissed Schuette’s statement as “hollow posturing” and urged Republican Gov. Rick Snyder to “finally put Line 5 out of service.” The Michigan Chamber of Commerce said the pipeline was important to the state’s economy and its fate shouldn’t be determined by “bumper stickers or emotional political appeals.”