For those who aren't familiar with the issue, Line 5 is an Enbridge-owned oil pipeline that runs beneath the Straits of Mackinac. It is actually two 20-inch pipelines that run along the bottom of the Straits, a five-mile span of pristine water separating Lakes Michigan and Huron.

Line 5 is controversial for a number of reasons. Foremost, it represents a constant risk of a catastrophic oil spill in some of the cleanest water in all five Great Lakes. The risk is ever-present because the pipeline was built in 1953 and intended to operate for only 50 years. It's now 15 years past its "sell-by" date. The aging pipeline is no longer adequately supported as it sits on the bottom of the Straits, its protective cladding has degraded, it is carrying higher pressure of heavier crude oil than it was designed to deliver, the pipes traverse an area where the currents flow back and forth between the lakes and in different directions at different depths. And the amount of water is vast—about 10 times the flow over Niagara Falls. Usually, the flow from Lake Michigan into Lake Huron is greater than the reverse, but the important fact is the water often flows in both directions at once. A spill would be literally impossible to contain; Line 5 is truly a disaster waiting to happen.

The pipeline transports oil from the tar sands of Alberta, Canada, to a refinery at Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. In other words, it carries Canadian oil from Canadian oil fields to a Canadian refinery; there isn't even the questionable argument of economic benefit to justify the risk to United States lakes. Moreover, the waters that will be destroyed by a spill are actually the property of Native Americans, and their rights are not only being violated: Their lifeways are being threatened.

Both the governor-elect and the attorney general-elect in Michigan pledged to shut down Line 5 if they were elected. However, the outgoing administration in Michigan made a deal with Enbridge to replace the underwater pipeline with a tunnel through the bedrock beneath the Straits. Of course, such a tunnel would take at least 10-15 years to complete, and during that time, Line 5 would continue to operate, possibly much longer based on probable legal challenges to the idea. There is currently a Bill SS 1197 introduced by Republicans into the Michigan Legislation which would give authorization to the Mackinac Bridge Authority to own and operate the utility tunnel.

Stay tuned! We will know in January, when Gretchen Whitmer is sworn in as Michigan's governor and Dana Nessel becomes the state's new Attorney General, whether or not they intend and are able to keep their promises regarding the most-urgent threat to the northern portions of Lake Huron and Lake Michigan.

Links:
Detroit Free Press Article On Tunnel Issue
FLOW Article on Line 5 and the Tunnel

Cheers,
Richard & John