The Advocacy Committee and Environmental Subcommittee of the Ann Arbor Area League of Women Voters support Governor Whitmer in her decision to terminate the Enbridge Line 5 Easement that enabled Enbridge (a Canadian Oil Company) to use the Straits of Mackinac.
We oppose Enbridge’s continued use of the 70-year-old Line 5 pipeline lying on the bottom of the Straits, and
- We oppose Enbridge’s proposed tunnel under the Straits as a bad idea that should be turned down.
- We request that our LWVAAA members write to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, the Michigan Public Service Commission, your legislators, and the Governor in support of termination of the Enbridge Line 5 Easement and in opposition to the tunnel.
Here are the links:
- DNR: https://www.michigan.gov/line5/
- MPSC https://www.oilandwaterdontmix.org/submit_line_5_public_comment_to_mpsc
- Governor Whitmer https://somgovweb.state.mi.us/GovRelations/ContactGovernor.aspx
- Find Your Michigan Representative https://www.house.mi.gov/MHRPublic/frmFindaRep.aspx
- Find Your Michigan Senator https://senate.michigan.gov/fysbyaddress.html
Both the Michigan League of Women Voters and LWV Great Lakes Region support termination of the easement and the Enbridge crossing.
The Michigan Environmental Council, of which the Michigan League of Women Voters is a member, made the following statement on December 19, 2020 in support of terminating the Enbridge Line 5 Easement:
“The worst possible place for an oil spill.” That’s what University of Michigan researchers call the Mackinac Straits where strong, erratic currents and thick winter ice make the consequences of an oil spill disastrous. Despite these warnings, deep beneath the Straits lies Line 5 -- an aging set of twin pipelines that transports 23 million gallons of oil every day.
Built in 1953, the pipeline is showing its age. There are gaps in its protective coating, and it's missing critical supports that anchor the pipeline against the lake’s floor. This level of deterioration is predictable -- the pipeline only had a fifty-year lifespan. But even before Line 5 passed its life expectancy, it posed an unnecessary risk to our Great Lakes. There have been 15 documented leaks along other portions of the pipeline since 1988.
Compounding our concerns, Line 5 is owned by Enbridge, the Canadian company responsible for the 2010 Kalamazoo River disaster -- the worst inland oil spill in U.S. history.
Now the company has made plans to build a tunnel in the Straits of Mackinac to house the pipeline.
The risk our Great Lakes and coastal communities is simply too high. It’s time to retire Line 5.
And Oil and Water Don’t Mix, a member of the Michigan Environmental Council, made the following statement on November 13, 2020:
“Governor Whitmer’s decisive action today to shut down Line 5 fulfills her public trust duty to protect the Great Lakes,” said Sean McBrearty, campaign coordinator for Oil & Water Don’t Mix. “Enbridge has played fast and loose with their duty of care for these dangerous oil pipelines, and the governor is holding them accountable for their irresponsible behavior that threatens the Great Lakes every single day. Michiganders who care about the Great Lakes and our northern Michigan economy--and that’s certainly all of us--welcome the governor’s strong actions that put Michigan and Great Lakes first.”
WANT TO LEARN MORE?
From Oil and Water Don’t Mix here is a list of organizations that support the shutdown of Line 5 including LWVMI and LWV- Great Lakes Region
See also the Michigan Environmental Council website and check out this MEC Capitol Connection webinar on the legal fight against Line 5, featuring Jennifer McKay, policy director of Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council.
