Photo of Straits of Mackinac. Photo Credit: Tom Mang
Line 5 is an oil and gas pipeline owned by Enbridge Inc., a Canadian oil company. Built in 1953, the pipeline is now 64 years old.
The pipeline runs from Superior, Wisconsin through the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and splits into two twin pipes that go under the Straits of Mackinac which connects the freshwater lakes of Michigan and Huron. Line 5 continues through the Lower Peninsula of Michigan and ends in an oil refinery in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada.
Most of what Line 5 transports is light crude oil and the rest is natural gas liquids. Some of the natural gas is siphoned out in the Upper Peninsula before the pipeline runs under the Straits.
Michigan homeowners and businesses use propane supplied by Line 5. The numbers on how much varies between sources. According to a brochure on Enbridge’s website, 85%/65% of homes in both the Upper Peninsula and northern Michigan are heated by the propane carried on Line 5. In a phone call to Enbridge’s spokesperson Ryan Duffy, Duffy reduced that figure to 65%. And according to For Love of Water (FLOW), an environmental law group in Traverse City, that figure may be as low as 30%.
According to Enbridge, Line 5 is in great shape, and they continue to ensure that the pipeline will stay that way. Environmentalists, businesses owners, tribal members, and others who advocate for Line 5’s decommission refute this claim. They report that the pipeline is missing its protective coating. They also bring up the harsh currents in the Straits, the concern that zebra and quagga mussels attached to Line 5 could be eroding the outside, and the oil itself slowly eroding the inside, as potential threats. The exact answer to this question depends on who you ask.
Enbridge is financially responsible for the oil clean up. The company has automatic shutoff valves installed to prevent spills. The Coast Guard directs the cleanup efforts. They are trained for oil recovery, using techniques like skimming, burning, and chemical dispersants. The Coast Guard ran an oil spill simulation on the Great Lakes in September 2015 using orange peels and peat moss to practice spill readiness. If there is an emergency during the months the Straits are frozen over, responders would need use an ice breaker before they could start clean up. The cold slows down work, making recovery less efficient. When not frozen, the waters are turbulent and wild. It is unclear if the plan for oil recovery has been approved by the federal government.
This issue will affect you, whether you think it will or not. Line 5 has the potential to affect a large percentage of the world’s fresh water. Access to water is fast becoming the next generation’s (that’s you, dear Reader) hot political issue.
Sunken Hazard: Aging Oil Pipelines Beneath the Straits of Mackinac an Ever-Present Threat to the Great Lakes. National Wildlife Federation. 2012.
http://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/Media-Center/Reports/Archive/2012/10-18-12-Sunken-Hazard.aspx
http://www.groundworkcenter.org/
http://www.oilandwaterdontmix.org/
United States Environmental Protection Agency. https://www.epa.gov/enbridge-spill-michigan
www.michigan.gov/energy/0,4580,7-230-73789_74071---,00.html
About Josephine Mandamin’s journey to draw attention to the waters. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fp-6olT0i2A
For more FAQ click here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6EnYiQXa5XudTAyTTR0blJlZms/view?usp=sharing