September 8, 2016The C$37-billion (click here) deal announced this week merging Calgary-based Enbridge with Houston-based Spectra Energy will create North America’s largest energy and pipeline operator....
October 3, 2018
By John Flesher
...The plan calls for decommissioning (click here) the pipes after installing a new line in a tunnel to be drilled through bedrock some 100 feet beneath the Straits of Mackinac, a more than 4-mile-wide waterway where Lakes Huron and Michigan converge. The massive engineering project is expected to take seven to 10 years to complete, at a cost of $350 million to $500 million — all of which the company would pay.
In the meantime, about 23 million gallons of oil and natural gas liquids used to make propane would continue moving daily through the twin lines at the bottom of the straits. They are part of Enbridge's Line 5, which extends 645 miles from Superior, Wis., to Sarnia, Ontario, crossing large areas of northern Michigan....
Line 5 runs underwater, but, not underground. If it starts to leak, the oil spill will be catastrophic. The water is unimportant to the Republicans, the oil has precedent over life itself. Shutting down Line 5 is prudent and will not end the oil flowing from Canada to the refineries in Texas.
SHUT IT DOWN !
The monies to be spent on another oil pipeline are astronomical and will have plenty of cost overruns. It is not needed. Regardless, if the company states it is paying for the building of the tunnel, examine the subsidies they get from the government every year. They aren't paying for it, the American taxpayer pays for the petroleum industry to continue it's polluting and emissions.
Seven to ten years is far too long for Line 5 to remain in service. Shut it down.
By David Eggert
...Most Republicans in the GOP-controlled chambers (click here) and some Democrats supported advancing the legislation to Gov. Rick Snyder, who plans to sign it quickly despite criticism that his administration should not tie the hands of Democrats who will take over the governor and attorney general offices. The outgoing GOP governor is working on several fronts to finalize an October agreement with Canadian oil transport giant Enbridge to replace the underwater segment of its Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac, where Lakes Huron and Michigan converge. The pipeline carries oil and natural gas liquids between Superior, Wisconsin, and Sarnia, Ontario....
December 12, 2018
Traverse City — Gov. Rick Snyder (click here) has signed legislation establishing a panel to oversee a hotly disputed tunnel that will house an oil pipeline beneath the waterway linking Lake Huron and Lake Michigan.
Snyder acted Wednesday, a day after the Republican-dominated Michigan Legislature gave the bill final approval. It creates the Mackinac Straits Corridor Authority to monitor construction and operation of the tunnel in bedrock beneath the waterway.
The tunnel and new pipeline segment will replace twin pipelines now resting on the bottom of the straits. They are part of Enbridge Inc.’s Line 5, which runs from Superior, Wisconsin, to Sarnia, Ontario.
Snyder also appointed the corridor authority’s three members, who will serve six-year terms.
They include Geno Alessandrini of Iron Mountain, Anthony England of Ypsilanti and Michael Zimmer of Dimondale.
