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Oil & Water Don't Mix
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And yes I have my sign in my driveway in Flint Michigan.
Make it a great day and thank you for volunteering!
Ron
Since 1953, the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline has served as a necessary tool to provide heat, propane, and energy to the State of Michigan. Currently Enbridge provides the Upper Peninsula with two-thirds of its propane supply, and 55% of the propane supply of the entire State of Michigan. A sudden shutdown of the line would cripple the energy infrastructure in our state and further raise the price for Michiganders to heat their homes. However, I understand your concerns regarding Line 5, especially the 4.5 miles of pipeline that run underneath the Straight of Mackinac. Following multiple assessments, in December of 2023, the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) approved Enbridge’s plan to replace the 4-mile section of pipeline under the Straight of Mackinac with a tunnel housing the pipeline.
The approved tunnel project will provide enhanced protection to the Great Lakes ecosystem by housing the line in an enclosed environment. This will offer protection from corrosive environmental factors, safeguard the line from accidental anchor strikes, allow easy access for maintenance, and proactively sequester any potential leaks from the water outside. We can and must protect our Great Lakes while ensuring that rural communities have their energy needs met. Please know, I am closely monitoring this situation and will keep your thoughts in mind should federal legislation related to this issue come before me for a vote.
Thanks for the help.
And petition: https://www.change.org/p/protect-the-porkies-cancel-the-copperwood-mine?signed=true
Scott Emerson
December 2023
Line 61 runs from Enbridge’s Superior, WI terminal to its Flanagan Terminal near Chicago, IL. Over the past decade this pipeline has had its capacity increased by Enbridge from 400,000 barrels of oil per day in 2012 to currently 1.2 million barrels of oil per day as of 2022. They did this not by building new pipelines along the Line 61 route, but by adding more pumps along the pipeline. It appears as of fall of 2022 to now have 300,000 barrels per day of unused capacity, or, only 75% of full capacity.
Line 6A runs from the Enbridge Superior Wi terminal to Griffith Indiana. This pipeline is over 50 years old. It has a 667,000 barrel per day capacity. Line 6B was 6As extension. It runs from Griffith Indians to Sarnia, Ontario, and was also an aging pipeline when it ruptured near Marshall, MI at its age of 40 years. This resulted in the largest inland oil spill in American history just 13 years ago. In the wake of this 6B was completely replaced and renamed as Line 78. It is uncertain if the capacity of Line 6A could be increased by simply adding more pumps as with Line 61 (above), but this aging pipeline might also be prone to rupture like its twin 6B was, and due for replacement and upgrade of flow capacity. The 500 to 600 million used to build a tunnel beneath the Great Lakes waters could be used instead by Enbridge to upgrade this aging line’s capacity to compensate for the loss of flow through line 5 as an additional bypass of the Great Lakes waters.
Line 14 & 64 run from Superior Wi to Chicago & northwest Indiana and also has had oil spill issues. They have a capacity of 318,000 barrels per day (uncertain if used at full capacity) and could be upgraded to increase capacity with funds not spent on a Line 5 tunnel project.
Line 78 is a relatively new line from northeast Illinois and northwest Indiana to Sarnia, Ontario that replaced old line 6B in 2015. It has a capacity currently of 570,000 barrels a day and with new pipe, might be able to have capacity increased by adding more pumps, as for line 61(above).
Line 5 could be divided into Line 5A (above the straits of Mackinac) and Line 5B (below the straits of Mackinac) with NO oil crossing the straits and no tunnel being built. It transports 540,000 barrels of oil and natural gas liquids (NGLs) per day. The loss of propane supplies for the UP and LP of Michigan has been used as a main argument for continuing oil flow through the straits. This is despite the assurances of the main propane suppliers within Michigan’s UP and LP that alternative supplies are readily available. The UP uses approximately 20 million gallons of propane per year while the LP of MI uses 250 million gallons of propane/ year. Line 5 currently provides a total of approximately 440 million gallons of propane per year as 20 % of the 108,000 barrels per day of NGLs or y- grade/ year flowing through line 5. (108,000 barrels per day of NGLs times approx. 20 % of it propane = 21,600 barrels of propane per day; times 365 days per year = 7, 884,000 barrels of propane per year @ 55 gallons per barrel = 433 million gallons per year of propane). With 100 million of the 500 to 600 million for the tunnel being used to install increased propane fractionation at Superior WI, Line 5A could be used by Enbridge as a pure propane gas line for the UP. Using an additional 80 million of the 500 to 600 million for a tunnel project to instead build increased propane storage at Rapid River, MI and Kincheloe, MI, propane could be bought and stored at lower summer prices and result in decreased cost for UP propane consumers. Line 5B could be used as a collector line to Sarnia, Ontario for all the oil and gas production in the northern Lower Peninsula. All of the crude oil currently flowing through line 5 (432,000 barrels per day) and the remaining NGLs / y-grade (86,000 barrels per day) a total of 516,000 barrels per day, could now flow down to pipeline distribution networks in the Chicago area. And according to data supplied by Enbridge we suspect that there is significant excess capacity currently available via lines 61 (300,000 barrels a day) leaving 210,000 barrels per day to transport to the Chicago area distribution network. This would also leave 320 to 420 million dollars not spent on the Line 5 tunnel used for upgrades to replace the Line 5 flow via lines 6a, Line 14 / 64 and Line 78. And if Enbridge decided that what other major propane providers for the UP have said is actually correct – that there is plenty of propane available for the UP without Line 5, they could then use the entire 500 to 600 million not spent on the tunnel to work a bypass of all Great Lakes waters. This would prove that they really do care about this priceless fresh water resource as a top priority and want to be a good corporate citizen of Michigan, respecting our State’s governor’s, native Americans treaty rights, our attorney general’s and straits area local government’s wishes concerning Line 5.
Finally, since the cut off of propane supply for the State of Michigan has been used as a main argument and justification for continuing Enbridge’s Line 5 and building a tunnel through the straits beneath Great Lakes waters, it could become a pure propane gas line supplying at around 440 million gallons of propane to Michigan and Ontario per year. This would more than solve this “problem” for Michigan that has been raised by Enbridge, and at far less expense than building a tunnel. While still not ideal, if Line 5 just became a pure propane gas line, no tunnel would be needed or desirable and the twin pipelines could be replaced with a new single 5-mile segment on the lakebed or buried just below it to prevent anchor strikes. A propane leak would not be nearly as damaging to the Great Lakes waters and shorelines as an oil spill, as the gas would rise to the surface and be dissipated naturally by the wind. Constructing any tunnel for a pure propane pipeline would be bad, as this would concentrate any leak (not allowing it to dissipate) and increasing the risk of an explosion within the tunnel. The oil portion and remaining NGLs of line 5 could be sent via alternate routes south around the Great Lakes from Superior WI.
Where there is a will there is a way if the Mackinac Straits Corridor Authority, Enbridge Corp, and the US Army Corp of Engineers are really serious about decreasing any chance of an oil spill within the waters of the Straits of Mackinac to ZERO.
Respectfully Submitted,
Scott Emerson
Chocolay Township
Michigan
For more information on the GLEF please visit our website: https://www.glef.us/
I am the coordinator of the Environmental Expo which will feature information tables staffed by members of various local, regional, state, and national environmentally focused organizations. Each exhibitor will be allocated a 15×15 footprint in the spacious school commons area to set up their table and/or information booth. Please plan to bring your own tables and chairs. There will be a limited number of electrical outlets available on a first asked/first given basis. We will be open for setup at 9am on April 20th.
To reserve your spot in the Environmental Expo all I need is a return email from you confirming your intention to be an exhibitor. If you need electricity, please tell me as soon as possible so we can position you near an outlet.
Do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or need additional information.
Ecology and Economy
by Liz Timmerman
Everyone is so calm,
Speaking in dollars and cents
Like it all makes logical sense.
But we cannot compare
Ecology and economy.
There is no way to quantify
Needing fresh water to survive
Ecology is wild life, your life.
And economy cannot exist
If oil and water mix
In the largest fresh water
System on earth.
What is life worth?
How are we okay with this risk?
We have given away our power
To an entity that doesn’t care about tomorrow.
And our tax dollars are paying for this run around
As no tribe or government can shut it down
Without spending insane amounts of money and time
Proving that their operation is a crime.
And with each passing day, the risk compounds
As they spread lies on air waves and ad campaigns
To confuse us and buy more time.
Their accounting admits that each day
This shut down is delayed
They make another million dollars.
So they continue to ignore
Orders of cease and desist
After all, they have money to resist
And minutes are money
But we cannot compare
Ecology and economy.
Enbridge has admitted their goal
For this pipe that is already too old:
To operate until the pipeline fails.
Do they understand what that entails?
Maybe they do, as court documents reveal
A loophole they’ve found –
Michigan citizens will be on the line
For any damages caused by Pipeline Five.
We are not free citizens
When a business has no restrictions
On making billions
While risking life on this planet.
We have been complacent
Because it has been convenient
But spilled oil will be on each of our hands
If we don’t wake up and take a stand.
We can no longer be
Pawns of their propaganda.
The risk this line currently poses
Comes down to two choices:
We pay half a cent more per gallon
To redirect the line to safer ground
Or we continue to allow this risk to persist
Knowing it will only end in disaster.
I am speaking with candor:
There is no way to compare
Ecology and Economy.
Shut down pipeline five.
Any chance someone from your group has a few minutes to do a Zoom interview about this? I’m looking to schedule that interview sometime this week, this weekend, or early next week.