All Michigan Democrats and citizens concerned about the Great Lakes should begin tracking the issue of Michigan's past, present and future responses to the Enbridge Pipeline Company and its Great Lakes Line 5 crossings
The Great Lakes crossings are at the Mackinac Strait [5 miles, with under-canyon, unsupported pipeline] and on the St. Clair River near Marysville, MI [swift current on the St. Clair River would rapidly transport spilled hydrocarbons downstream over a very long, wide area & threatening a lengthy and wide area of the Michigan-Ontario border].
This news [below] is out today from the National Wildlife Federation office in Ann Arbor.
Note that Congressman Mark Schauer has made the Great Lakes pipeline crossings issue a part of his campaign for Governor, and Schauer did that well before today's announcement.
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NWF Supports Michigan Effort to Get More Information on Straits of Mackinac Pipeline
Ann Arbor, Mich. (April 30, 2014) – Michigan officials yesterday publicly pressed Enbridge Inc.—the company responsible for the largest inland oil spill in U.S. history—to answer questions about its plans to expand its decades-old pipeline under the Straits of Mackinac.
Among other information, Attorney General Bill Schuette and Dan Wyant, director of the state Department of Environmental Quality, are asking the company to provide inspection records of the 61-year-old pipeline and response plans in the event of a spill.
Commenting on the request, Andy Buchsbaum, regional executive director of the National Wildlife Federation’s Great Lakes office, said:
“We fully support Gov. Rick Snyder and Attorney General Bill Shuette for taking this important step to protect Michigan communities and the Great Lakes from another potentially catastrophic oil spill. The state is asking the right questions.
“Enbridge now needs to come clean about the integrity of its 60-year-old pipeline under the Straits of Mackinac. Following its 2010 oil disaster in Michigan—the largest inland oil spill in U.S. history—it owes Michigan citizens answers.
“The stakes are too high. The Mackinac pipeline carries more than 20 million gallons of oil every day under Lakes Michigan and Huron. And an oil spill there would have devastating consequences for people, fish and wildlife, and the economy. It’s a recipe for disaster.
“We look forward to see how the company responds. In the meantime, we will continue to fight to protect the Great Lakes –and all of our nation’s waters and wildlife—from future spills.”
For more National Wildlife Federation news visit www.nwf.org/news
The National Wildlife Federation is America's largest conservation organization inspiring Americans to protect wildlife for our children's future.
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Jordan Lubetkin
Senior Regional Communications Manager
National Wildlife Federation's Great Lakes Regional Center
213 W. Liberty St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
lubetkin@nwf.org
w: 734-887-7109
c: 734-904-1589
I can't respond to comments tonight because I've got a deadline to meet on another project.