Environmental groups are responding to news that Governor Rick Snyder Monday rejected a proposal to shut down the Line 5 pipeline beneath the Straits of Mackinac.
Gaps in the line’s protective coating drew concern from environmental groups last year, and in December the Pipeline Safety Advisory Board called for a temporary shutdown until the gaps could be inspected.
Snyder rejected the proposal in a written statement saying “there is no risk of imminent failure.”
Liz Kirkwood is with the environmental group For the Love of Water. She said the dismissal is a disappointment.
“The governor’s agreement fundamentally does not keep the Great Lakes safer because every single day 23 million gallons of oil are pumped through the Straits of Mackinac.”
In his announcement, Snyder said that a shutdown could cause a propane crisis in the state.
Kirkwood said the propane concerns are overblown.
“The issue about propane has really been overblown in terms of the inability of Michiganders to solve the problem. We are smart people we can solve this issue. If we want to.”
One of the proposals called for Snyder to conduct an analysis of the need for Line 5 in Michigan.
Snyder said the proposal wasn’t clear on how the study would be conducted or who would conduct it.
Ryan Duffy is with Enbridge Energy. He said the company’s November deal with the state included several options for Line 5.
“There are seven different pieces of that and another piece of that is looking at the eventual replacement of the line 5 section of pipe through the straits of Mackinac.”
Environmentalist Liz Kirkwood said the state hasn’t taken alternatives to running a line beneath the straits seriously.
“I hope that in 2018 we can have a real conversation about the alternatives to locating a 65-year-old oil pipeline in the heart of the Great Lakes.”
Duffy said Enbridge is committed to improving safety and transparency in the operation of the pipeline.