Calling Enbridge's continued operation of 73-year-old oil and gas pipelines in the Straits of Mackinac a "ticking time bomb," Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has renewed her appeal to the Canadian oil transport giant to cease operation of its Line 5 in the Straits.
"One spill in the Straits could do irreparable damage to our water, our economy and our way of life," Whitmer stated in a Sept. 9 letter to Enbridge President and CEO Gregory L. Ebel.
The governor noted a July 31 ruling by the Michigan Supreme Court that vacated the Michigan Public Service Commission's order approving Enbridge's proposed $800 million tunnel beneath the Straits bottom, which would house a new oil and gas pipeline. The court ruled the MPSC didn't adequately consider the full scope
of potential environmental impacts from the tunnel project, including whether it would cause further environmental harms by expanding Line 5's operational lifespan. The court further ordered a "fair and reasoned comparison" of the environmental impacts of any alternatives to the tunnel that were considered.
"For years, Enbridge has responded to concerns about the existing pipeline by pointing to the proposed Great Lakes Tunnel, while insisting the status quo is perfectly safe," Whitmer stated in her letter to Ebel. "That argument was difficult enough to accept before July 31. It is untenable now.
"Even under an optimistic scenario, it is difficult to see an operating tunnel earlier than 10 years from now. And it may never be built. Enbridge cannot use the premise of a tunnel to justify putting our most precious resources at risk by pumping oil through the Great Lakes for another decade."
Line 5 moves 23 million gallons of oil and natural gas liquids per day through the Upper Peninsula, splitting into twin, underwater pipelines through the 4-mile stretch of the Straits – built in 1953 – before returning to a single transmission pipeline through the Lower Peninsula and on to a hub in Sarnia, Ontario.
Concerned citizens and environmentalists have called for the decommissioning of the line, stating a spill along the 73-year-old pipeline like the one on Enbridge's Line 6B pipeline near the Kalamazoo River in 2010 would devastate the Great Lakes, shoreline and island communities, as well as the state's economy. The pipeline over the years has been discovered in inspections to be missing protective coating and required supports holding the line in place on the lake bottom. The pipes have also been damaged in multiple anchor strikes.
Enbridge officials, however, claim the pipelines remain safe and that the tunnel project will only enhance safety.
Whitmer and Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy Director Phil Roos also announced Wednesday, Sept. 9, that the state must conduct a deeper environmental review of the pipeline tunnel project in light of the Michigan Supreme Court's July 31 ruling. The governor had faced criticism from environmental groups after EGLE renewed a permit for the Line 5 tunnel project in mid-July.
"With the Michigan Supreme Court invalidating the MPSC's permit because its analysis was too narrow, we understand that EGLE's permit may need further review through the legal process," Roos said. "Until all of those legal questions are resolved, conditions in EGLE's permit prevent construction of the tunnel entrance from moving forward."
The Free Press reached out to Enbridge officials for comment on Wednesday morning.
Whitmer, in her letter to Ebel, called on Enbridge to seek alternatives to the tunnel and shipping oil and gas through the Straits of Mackinac and Great Lakes, "a planned, orderly transition that protects Michigan families and businesses and gets oil out of the Straits far sooner."
"The choice is not simply between the existing pipelines and a tunnel," Whitmer stated. "Multiple energy supply-chain experts have concluded that, with sufficient notice and an orderly transition, the market can adapt to a Line 5 shutdown without significant supply shortages or price spikes. An alternative solution can be months away."
Line 5 has ceased operationsince an Aug. 25 accident in Iron County, Wisconsin, where a parked contractor's truck rolled into a ditch and struck and damaged the pipeline, leading to a spill of an estimated 31,000 barrels, or 1.3 million gallons, of natural gas liquids including propane, butane and other hazardous materials. Cleanup by the company is ongoing.
Whitmer in 2020 revoked and terminated Enbridge's 1953 easement allowing the company to use the Great Lakes bottomlands for its Straits pipelines. But Enbridge fought back in court, and a federal court last December ruled Michigan cannot enforce that order. The court found the federal Pipeline Safety Act comprehensively regulates interstate pipeline safety, meaning individual states cannot interfere with or override federal authority on these operations. Whitmer said the state would appeal.
"The premise of that ruling is outrageous: Michigan, having once said yes to these pipelines in 1953, is forever bound to that decision with no further say," Whitmer stated in her letter to Ebel. "The bottomlands belong to the people of Michigan, but according to Enbridge, the people of Michigan have no say over whether your company continues to profit from moving millions of gallons of oil every day."
Contact Keith Matheny: kmatheny@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Whitmer again calls for Line 5 pipeline shutdown in Straits of Mackinac
