Michigan, Enbridge reach deal to boost safety of pipelines
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and Canadian oil transport company Enbridge Inc. announced a timeline Monday for determining the future of twin pipelines beneath the channel where Lakes Huron and Michigan converge.
Options include shutting down the lines or routing them through a tunnel beneath the lakebed where they now rest.
The plan calls for reaching a final agreement by Aug. 15, 2018, on the pipes beneath the Straits of Mackinac, a 5-mile-long (8-kilometre-long) scenic waterway with high value to the tourist industry and Great Lakes environment. They are part of Enbridge’s Line 5, which carries nearly 23 million gallons (87 million litres) of oil and liquid natural gas daily across northern Wisconsin and Michigan to refineries in Sarnia, Ontario.
The company has repeatedly insisted the underwater segment installed in 1953 is in good condition and has never leaked. However, state officials and environmental groups have expressed alarm over recent disclosures of gaps in its exterior layer of protective enamel coating and unsupported spaces beneath the pipes.