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Help us by are calling on our state leaders to enforce the easement granted to Enbridge for their Line 5 oil pipelines to be allowed to operate in the Straits of Mackinac.
Take action to protect the Great Lakes from a disastrous oil spill.
Michigan Governor Snyder and Attorney General Schuette:
As you know, the Canadian pipeline company Enbridge pumps almost 23 million gallons of oil every day through its Line 5 pipeline, from Superior, Wisconsin to Sarnia, Ontario.
Enbridge is currently operating in violation of the 1953 easement agreement with the State of Michigan to operate Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac. Turbulent currents and winter conditions make the Straits the worst possible location for a spill. Required supports for Line 5 have washed out for the second time in two years. Independent experts have identified at least seven state and federal violations of this legal agreement with the state.
Since 1988, this 64-year-old pipeline has failed at least fifteen times, dumping about 260,000 gallons of oil on land and in marshes. This pipeline crosses along the bottom of the Great Lakes at the Straits of Mackinac, and through many sensitive inland lakes, rivers, and wetlands.
This pipeline poses an unacceptable risk to our water, ecosystems, health, and economy.
I urge you to act as legal public trustees of our waters and bottomlands to enforce the 1953 Easement and immediately shut down Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac to protect the Great Lakes from a catastrophic oil spill.
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I worked for over 34 years as a licensed Professional Engineer in states of Washington, Tennessee and Michigan in the utility and chemical industry. I helped design, managed the daily operation, and maintained three large facilities. I learned through several piping failures and chemical spills the importance of reducing the risk through best practice to maintain, and ultimately retire, aging piping systems.
Maintaining the mechanical integrity of piping systems is a big and expensive safety and environmental challenge. Even where one can easily access the aging pipeline, and apply good non destructive testing and corrosion monitoring, it’s very difficult to avoid all failures. Piping that is buried or under water is a severe challenge. There’s a high likelihood of missing corroding locations, a weak weld or piping defect. This line will fail someday, and needs to be proactively removed from service as it reaches the end of its usable life. There is no company that can safely manage this risk, and guarantee 0 failures.
Our Great Lakes are the source of Michigan’s drinking water, tourism, and lakeshore property value. They need a committed protection.
Please take action and shutdown line 5 immediately.
Sincerely, R. Burgie, P.E. State of Michigan
You were elected to protect and care for Lake Michigan …… Not to protect and care for Enbridge.