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I am greatly concerned – terrified – about the 62-year-old pipelines (known as Line 5 Pipelines) pumping millions of gallons of oil and gas under our Straits of Mackinac.
These pipelines, meant to carry much lighter oil, were built with a 50-year expected lifespan. Canadian company Enbridge, infamous for the largest land spill in the U.S. (Kalamazoo River in 2010), ships the product through Michigan to Sarnia, Canada, where it is exported.
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Enbridge is using an expensive public relations blitz since the DEQ released a Final Task Force Report (view/download the PDF) – but NO timeline – regarding the pipeline. The United States Coast Guard has stated that they are NOT equipped to handle a spill at the Straits. Imagine four feet of ice.
Enbridge took 17 hours to respond to the Kalamazoo disaster and has not been able to return the river to normal, despite five years and millions of dollars.
PLEASE contact Governor Rick Snyder , (517-373-3400, [email protected]); Attorney General Bill Schuette (517-373-1110, [email protected]); and DEQ Director Dan Wyant (517-284-6700, [email protected]). Tell them this is NOT a federal issue, but a state issue.
Demand that LINE 5 be SHUT DOWN IMMEDIATELY!
Margaret Pierson
Traverse City
Further Reading:
- Submerged Enbridge Pipeline Under Michigan’s Straits of Mackinac Raises Spill Fears, AP story by John Flescher, The Huffington Post
- Line 5 Pipelines and Extreme Energy, FLOW (For Love of Water)
- DEQ Final Task Force Report and Appendices
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