Enbridge Reports - Comments

In November 2017, the State entered into an agreement with Enbridge Energy Partners to provide greater safeguards for Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac, even as a multi-department analysis to determine the future of the pipeline continued. The agreement required Enbridge to produce four reports that looked at various aspects of Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac and across Michigan. This first report – “Alternatives for replacing Enbridge’s dual Line 5 pipelines crossing the Straits of Mackinac,” analyzes alternatives to the current Line 5 in the Straits.

The other three reports due at the end of June look at ways to mitigate anchor strikes to Line 5, technologies to monitor the pipeline, and identification of priority waterways throughout the state that Line 5 crosses and assessment of measures to minimize the likelihood and consequences of a spill.

The “Alternatives for replacing Enbridge’s dual Line 5 pipelines crossing the Straits of Mackinac” report is now available for public review.

Public input will help to guide the State’s decision on the future of Line 5. You can offer comments before July 15 regarding the action you think the state should take.

Thoughtful analysis will be critical in determining a path forward that is protective of the Great Lakes and in the best interests of the state’s residents.

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Responses

Growing up in Northern Michigan I've always took full advantage of swimming, fishing, and boating on the Great Lakes and in the Inland Water Ways. As a resident of Hilton Head Island, SC for 3 years I miss and appreciate Fresh Water even more. When swimming in Salt Water the eyes will burn if opened under water, a film is left on the skin when exiting the ocean, and most importantly you can not drink it. I miss jumping in the river after a hot days worth of work. As a firm citizen against Pipeline 5 and in full agreement that the Pipeline needs to be removed its sad to think that a tunnel is now an alternative solution. #SHUTDOWNLINE5MEOW

Shut down Line 5. Too much risk for Canada’s oil. Why doesn’t enbridge show a list of everyone they “buy out” to continue this pipeline. I’ve talked to people all over the state and ninety percent, regardless of political party, ethnicity, religion, age, etc., the people want the waters of the Great Lakes protected. Protected from environmental pollutions and protected from companies with private interests that put our waters at imminent risk of a catastrophic oil spill. We have not forgotten the Kalamazoo River. Line 6b spilled millions of gallons of oil. Same company, same risk.
Shut it down today!
Make the Great Lakes a National treasure

If this pipeline does say spill and leaks or even ruptures, what would happen? Landscape and waterways would be filled with oil. Along with the cost of clean up? So few million or even billion. And then the extra cost of tourists, or fudgies, can't come up for the views and sights, and the water. So now think about it? Is a 65 year old pipeline, that has been dagee, open coating and rotting away under the straits really worth it to cost all that? And remember this is a Canadian company that will affect more than Michigan, also Wisconsin, and Canada too. So is it really worth all this trouble? Think about it..

I am asking for no oil or fuel pipelines in the Great Lakes. It's bad enough to pollute the smaller and mediocre lakes, but The Great Lakes are Great for a reason and we must protect them from fuel. It's worth the diversion until we can divest to alternative energy.
Respectfully submitted,
Sandra Howe

While any pipe line has it`s dangers they , at this time are necessary. We all complain when the price of gas goes up .25 cents for no reason, with out this line the cost is anybody's guess . The main concern is the lake crossing, but we need to be concerned with all the pipes through out the country. They need to do a TBM Tunnel yesterday ,take into thought the future needs ,size the tunnel and pipe accordingly . and go inspect the many of miles we know are getting old through out our state and others. When there is no need then shut it down, but that time is not now, sorry to say.

As a resident of Beaver Island in Lake Michigan, I am extremely concerned about a potential catastrophy from Line 5, and any other oil pipelines in the Great Lakes. These waters, shoreline and communities are vital to our state snd deserve government protection. Shut down Line 5. Oil pipelines do not belong in the Great Lakes.

There should be no oil pipeline under the Great Lakes. We have been fortunate that Line 5 has not ruptured as it over 60 years old. The Great Lakes are Jewels of the Biosphere containing 18 % of the earth systems water. By the middle of this century, or sooner, we humans will need all the fresh water we can use. We, as citizens of the USA, cannot afford to lose this precious commodity by letting Enbridge destroy it. They almost destroyed the Kalamazoo River by spilling oil into it. A spill into the Great Lakes would be far worse, especially if the spill occurs in winter, when ice will inhibit a rapid response. The world needs to wean itself from the use of fossil fuel and use other more sustainable energy like solar and wind power. This Canadian Company should not be allowed to ruin one of the Jewels of the Biosphere!

THIS PIPELINE SHOULD RUN THROUGH CANADA AS NONE OF THE RAW MATERIAL ENDS UP IN MICHIGAN, WE DON'T USE ANY OF IT. THE INHERENT RISKS OF A SPILL DO NOT JUSTIFY PLACING ANY PIPELINE RUNNING UNDER MICHIGAN WATERS, THERE CAN NEVER BE A CLEANUP THAT WOULD WORK TO UNDO THE DAMAGE. THIS IS A CASE OF GREED TRYING TO CONTINUE BREAKING THE ORIGINAL AGREEMENT THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN CONDEMNED BY THE STATE. NEVER PUT OUR WATERWAYS-ENVIRONMENT AT CONTINUED PERIL FOR ANY REASON.

The new reports show that line 5 is an accident waiting to happen. Enbridge has a long history of doing the bare minimum to satisfy state requirements regarding line 5 and really ignoring the true intent of those requirements (preventing a spill); presumably the company wishes to save itself money. Enbridge does not deserve to continue operating an oil pipeline which runs across 400 waterways in Michigan when they cannot demonstrate basic responsibility or respect for the opportunity Michigan has given them. I, for one, would pay a higher gas price to ensure the safety of our water.

Our beautiful Great Lakes
• Contain 20% of the world's fresh surface water
• Contain 84% of the surface water in North America
• Contains 6 quadmillion gallons of fresh water
And this fresh water supply is at great risk due to Enbridge's 65 year old oil pipeline that pumps 23 million gallons of oil every day through Line 5 that runs across the upper peninsula, through the Straits of Mackinac (in the water under the Mackinac Bridge) and down to the lower peninsula.

This is a disaster waiting to happen ... one that could harm our economy, our environment and our health beyond repair.

We are being told that this pipeline is safe. This is coming from the same people in the state government who told us the water in Flint was safe. This is coming from Enbridge, who in July 2010 was responsible for the largest inland oil pipeline disaster in the US history, that took place in Kalamazoo, MI. In July 2010, Enbridge's 30 inch pipeline (line 6B) had a 6 foot ruptured and dumped over a million gallons of heavy crude oil into the Talmadge Creek, which flows into the Kalamazoo River.... resulting in 39 miles of the Kalamazoo River being polluted with this heavy crude oil.

The government can create rules and regulations for safety. The government can fine these corporations huge sums of money for not following safety standards ... but that has not resulted in improved business practices. Case in point, BP has a long, extensive history of being fined by the US government, but they just continue on, business as usual because the fines apparently do not really hurt their bottom line profits.

Here is a perfect example: In 2005 BP vowed to address safety shortfalls that caused their Texas City refinery to blow up and kill 15 people. In 2007, BP paid $370 million in fines for a series of criminal charges, including some related to the 2005 explosion. But in 2009 the Occupational Safety and Health Administration found more than 700 violations at that same BP Texas Refinery.

We cannot trust Enbridge, who chose to ignore the fact that their 42 year old pipeline near Marshall, MI, had hundreds of corrosion defects and were willing to risk it rupturing, to be honest with us about the 65 year old pipeline that lays under the water in the Straits of Mackinac to be safe.

We need to push the State of Michigan to act as the "public trustee" and shut down the 65 year old pipeline and eliminate the risk of having a catastrophic oil spill in Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.

And Enbridge, a Canadian company, is trying to influence the November 2018 election by giving political money to Michigan Chamber's effort to fight the ballot initiatives to end gerrymandering in Michigan. And why are they doing this? Because if the election district are drawn in a manner that represents the people, Enbridge is afraid they will lose the current political support they have in Lansing. Canada needs to keep their nose out of Michigan elections and shut down Line 5!

Line 5 needs to be retired immediately. This line has outlived its usefulness and is in danger of leaking into the precious waters of The Straits of Mackinac. Enbridge has not proven itself to be honest nor trustworthy and we cannot risk our precious Waters to this one Canadian company's policies.

If there is even a slight chance that Line 5 will leak oil into the lakes, it should be shut down. As things stand now, there's an enormous chance. The pipeline is well past its designed lifespan, and recent reports suggest that it has already been damaged by anchors. Don't sit waiting for disaster, act now.

Even with additional safe guards it's not worth the risk. Shut down line 5.

Please, shut down Line 5!
The Great Lakes continue to be one of the largest sources of fresh water in the world. If Line 5 leaks or ruptures, we will lose a source too precious to comtemplate. The costs would be outrageous to contain it and the results would be catastrophic for all wildlife. We may never be able to get that source back to the way it was.
I have lived in Michigan my entire life. I've seen other parts of the world, but when I travelled, I was always excited to come home, knowing that my home state was all I needed. I grew up swimming in the Great Lakes, taking vacations to see them all. The pipeline is way passed its lifespan. I could not express my heartbreak in knowing those sources of fun, beauty, and life are at risk because of oil.
Please. Please. Shut down Line 5.

I don't understand why we are still talking about Line 5. The pipeline is old, dented, improperly supported and failing - and the risk to our Great Lakes water - and economy - is enormous AND AVOIDABLE. There is plenty of justification to end the easement NOW. That means no tunnel either. Why do we allow a Canadian company to pump oil through the "worst place in the Great Lakes" for oil where 10 times the flow of Niagra Falls goes and reverses direction every few days? Line 5 should be completely shut down. Let the Canadians figure out how to get their oil to market. We should not make this our problem. A leak of just 3 hours (10% of the daily flow) could result in a $6 billion dollar hit to our economy. Enbridge is not to be trusted - have not been transparent with us - knowing about problems in the coating for 3 years before telling us, slow to tell us when they know there's a problem (3 dents from nearby anchor drop). We don't need to trust them - let them pump oil through their own country and not our Great Lakes and numerous waterways. The RISK IS TOO GREAT. SHUT DOWN LINE 5 NOW. Our reputation as Pure Michigan is everything to our tourism business and way of life. In a matter of hours, we could become Putrid Michigan - and you have the power to stop it.

An oil spill in the Great Lakes would be absolutely disastrous. Species would die, shipping lanes would close, and fishing would cease to exist in many places. The environment both in and out of the lakes would be changed forever. Tourists would stop visiting our pristine shorelines and beaches. Boaters would keep their boats out of our waters. An oil spill in the Great Lakes would change the lives of people in every state surrounding the lakes. This is an extremely scary thought. This can be prevented though. Shut down line 5. We don’t want to look out at a sea of oil and think what could have been had we acted.

Shut down line 5! The consequences of a pipeline failure are much to great to risk pumping oil through our Great Lakes. Our economy, livilyhoods, and future depends on it. Oil and water don’t mix!

Shut it down. The economic productivity that is achieved with the pipeline is nothing compared to the value of the natural resource of the water and the industries it supports.

Shut. It. Down.

Shut it down. No penalties or fines in the event of the inevitable leak will bring back what we will lose. You could even fine them so much they go out of business, so what would we be left with? A destroyed ecosystem and not enough money in the world can fix it. How could letting them continue ever be on the right side of a simple risk versus reward calculation? Costa Rica gets how valuable their ecosystem is. Look at what they have done in the past couple of years to protect that valuable resource. We should be doing the same.

Ironic, that the Governo's hand picked PSAB has this duty. The Board has been working three years on gathering facts on the risks and alternatives so it could make a recommendation to the state before the year ends. Instead of waiting for their report, the PSAB was blindsided and insulted by the backroom deal of 11/17 providing that Enbridge only would do a set studies and issue its own reports. Now has to have it pushed back in their face by being charged with the obligation of reviewing public comments of enbridge's pr effort to keep pumping canadian oil to canada. absolutely outrageous PSAB members should just recommend that snyder and schuette go someplace far from michigan and both not be permitted burial rights within 200 milesof the great Lakes.

It is so disheartening to attend another one of these meetings with the MEDQ when you clearly have not paid any serious attention to what we have each been saying to you over and over again during the last 5 years of these meetings.

1. The Pipeline is not safe. You have seen the cracks both large and small; you have put coating on them and that doesn't work at all; and you have seen prediction reports from University people that show you exactly what the big spill is going to look like and how much shoreline will be irreparably and irrefutably damaged.

2. I believe that it would be very hard for you to have missed the reports of the percentages of people that live in the State of Michigan that want your pipeline shut down and removed. It would be hard to imagine that during an election season you have missed the percentage of people that have tied their upcoming vote to candidates that have sworn to shut down and have you remove your pipeline. Just in case any of you have missed any of that, those numbers are over 70%.

3. All of you for the last five years have presented yourselves as the minority of a group of probably, well invested people, that like this rotted old pipeline and want it to stay in the Straits, be it above ground or below ground.

4. The majority of the people of the State of Michigan want your pipeline to be shut down and removed. In a democracy, weak and tender as it may have become lately, the majority rules! Stop pretending to get our input and then turn around and meet your own dangerous desires. Decent people don't behave in that manner. Shame on all of you.

Shut down line 5. There is too much at risk, our lakes, tourism, and industry in Michigan and the Great Lakes States as a whole cannot risk a disaster like a line 5 rupture or leak. Shut it down.

Enbridge currently regards the Line 5 Pipeline to be of "no-risk" to potential spill or environmental impact. Let's all take a step back from that statement and the logic in place. Enbridge employs a "it hasn't happened yet" mentality. In the lifetime of the pipeline, no major spill has occurred. Thankfully, that is true. However, just because the pipeline remains "safe" today, does not ensure it will remain "safe" tomorrow.
No measures of protection, other than shutting down Line 5 indefinitely, will ensure the safety of Michigan's beautiful, one-of-a-kind great lakes and waterways. Yes, energy is important. Heck! It keeps this world moving forward, but are we so focused on the movement of oil and natural gas that we, as people, as lovers of the Great Lakes and the surrounding areas, are willing to risk the beautiful things that they are and what they have provided to so many? We love these lakes and their communities. We fish on these lakes; play on them, make our living from them, identify ourselves by our proximity to them.
As a Michigander and a Yooper, the thought of losing the pureness and beauty of the Mackinaw Straights terrifies me. An oil disaster would cost Michigan and the Lakes so much more than a clean-up effort. Environmentally, the area may be in recovery for years, but so would the hearts of those who vacation to the area, those who camp, fish, bike, and make memories with the Great lakes at the heart of it all. Enbridge, Michigan Legislators, and ALL citizens, I ask you to look years down the road when your families are grown; How do you envision the Great Lakes? Are they still as pure and awe-inspiring? Let's make that our goal. Preserve the God-given beauty of the Great Lakes and Michigan. SHUT DOWN LINE 5.

There is no safe alternative or option when it comes to putting a pipeline through a body of water. The Great Lakes keep us alive by feeding and hydrating our bodies, and inspiring our spirits. I think of the lakes as an extension of myself and feel intimately connected to their health. We would not be here without the lakes. Each day, we hear news of another pipeline leaking in the Dakotas, or the West somewhere. We hold 1/5th of the most precious resource on Earth. Do not allow money to blind you in this decision. What do people really need to live? Profit and oil? Or water and food? Shut down Line 5 forever and save our way of life.

Water is more important than anything. There's no moral way around it. No pipeline!!!

Shut down line 5 can’t risk any sort of leak that could effect our fresh water supply.

It is no longer a reasonable risk to operate line 5. Begin the transition away from line 5 right now.

Line 5 poses too big a risk!

As an angler, boater, swimmer, rock skipper and general enjoyer of the Great Lakes (I grew up 30 minutes south of the Mackinac Bridge)I can’t begin to fathom the destruction that would result from a line 5 catastrophe. Can you imagine our sand shorelines, our fisheries, our ECONOMY(!) if the worst case scenario — something that is becoming more and more realistic as the years pass, as line 5 infrastructure gets increasingly battered and aged — were to occur in the Straits of Mackinac? I don’t want to imagine that, and I especially don’t want that to become a reality in a place that I love so dearly, a place that I daydream about constantly whenever I am gone, the place where I learned to swim and caught my first Salmon. Please, for the love of all that is holy (which, to me, is the cold, clear water coursing through the Straits of Mackinac)—shut down line 5.

Stop using the pipeline. Dont not risk the waters of the great lakes for canada’s gas.

For those who call any shoreline city of the great lakes home, this issue is without a doubt terrifying and so clearly not worth the risk. The mentality of "it hasn't happened yet" is maddening as the pipeline was intended to be replaced after 50. Here we are 15 years later... Shouldn't it be obvious that the longer we wait to take action the more likely we are to face an oil spill?

Pipeline 5 has too much potential to go sour. I’ve lived on Lake Michigan all my life, I would be devistated if anything happened to any of the Great Lakes. Shut that shit down!

At this point, the water is more important than the oil coming from line 5. I feel they should find a work around that does not impose risk to the Great Lakes. I only see bad things coming from this and some wealthy person lining their pockets even more.

There are only a handful of things in this physical world that can not be replaced. A few of those things are found in the United States, including the Great Lakes water system. That pristine beauty and fortunate resource is the lifeblood of an entire region of humans, animals, and ecology. It’s an economic driver purely in its existence. To sacrifice that which cannot be replaced for the benefit of that which can and should be reconfigured is shortsighted and dangerous. Oil has many locations and options for safe transport, one of which should NOT be below or above the surface of a precious ecosystem. A lake is not an ocean in the way that it heals — any scale of disaster will be just that .. a disater.
Please put convenience and cost aside and consider what we as humans have left on this planet that is not spoiled. The list is not long.
I hope that those who are overseeing this project will listen to the will of the planet and discontinue use and dismantle this dangerous operation for the sake of hopefully generations to come.
Thank you.

The Line 5 Pipeline poses an enormous threat to the safety and livelihood of countless people in the Great Lakes community. It threatens the state of Michigan's tourism industry. The potential impacts of a spill on the local ecosystems and the services they provide (ranging from recreation to food to drinking water) would be devastating. The pipeline puts our entire Great Lakes region at risk, for the benefit of a foreign energy company and for little to no gain for residents of Michigan/surrounding states. The aging pipeline, now assailed by invasive zebra and quagga mussels, is a ticking time bomb.

The Line 5 Pipeline poses an enormous threat to the safety and livelihood of countless people in the Great Lakes community. It threatens the state of Michigan's tourism industry. The potential impacts of a spill on the local ecosystems and the services they provide (ranging from recreation to food to drinking water) would be devastating. The pipeline puts our entire Great Lakes region at risk, for the benefit of a foreign energy company and for little to no gain for residents of Michigan/surrounding states. The aging pipeline, now assailed by invasive zebra and quagga mussels, is a ticking time bomb.

Shut down line 5! The state of Michigan has enough water problems as it is. If Line 5 leaks (which is surely will), this will cause incredible damage to our economy as well as to the health of our water. SHUT IT DOWN.

Shut down Line 5! The welfare of our region is at stake.

Our fresh drinking water is too valuable of a resource to risk. Remove these dangerous pipelines from the Great Lakes! This would never be approved if proposed today--they should not be kept in place. The impacts of a oil leak in our lakes are overwhelmingly numerous--from fishing, tourism, drinking water, and ecological health. These pipelines must be decommissioned!

Line 5 poses too high of a risk to the Great Lakes. The effect of an oil spill both environmentally and economically, would be irreversible. Enbridge should not and will not be trusted. The pipeline must be retired immediately.

Line 5 is way too great a risk to our drinking water to be allowed to continue. As a resident of Michigan, I am STRONGLY opposed to this pipeline and others like it. These pipelines threaten our economy, ecosystems, and public health. Shut down line 5!

Oil and water don’t mix! Shut down line 5. Our environment is more important then profit seeking oil capitalists. If it leaks, we lynch.

The Great Lakes are far too valuable of a resource to risk! Why are we putting a single company before our entire state's economy? We have already done more than enough damage to the Great Lakes through the years. We need to do more to protect our state's greatest asset and shutting down Line 5 would be a step in that direction. Money could never fix the damage Line 5 could potentially (and most likely will) cause. It's hard to see how anyone living in Michigan could possibly be in favor of this pipeline. Please protect and preserve the most beautiful part of our state for generations to come!

Shut down Line 5. Paradise is our birthright. We deserve our Great Lakes to stay clean and undamaged by fossil fuels. We are risking a resource which we all appreciate and benefit from for a continued dependence on carbon when we should be transitioning to clean forms of energy anyway. I will not stand for these beautiful waters in our own backyard being put at risk just so people can have cheaper gas in the short run.

I have called Michigan my home for 30 years. I could not imagine living anywhere else. Line 5 needs to be shut down to help protect our beautiful Great Lakes. Money should never be put first before people and the environments well being.

Michigan Wouldn’t be Michigan without the Great Lakes, money is only money, resources are much more valuable than whatever is happening politically

Shut Down Line 5.
Water is life. Money is not.

Line 5 needs to be diverted up the ass of anyone affilited or that stands to profit from it.

Shut down Line 5! A ruptured pipeline could cost up to $6 billion in general economic damages, $4.5 billion to the tourism industry, and another $700 million in natural resources damages, according to a recent economic report by FLOW (see link below). It's not the risk to our precious Great Lakes. We can do better. http://flowforwater.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/FLOW_Report_Line-5_Fi...

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