As a new state-commissioned report raises the prospect that taxpayers would be on the financial hook for a massive Great Lakes oil spill, leading citizens and tribal groups today called on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to take new, immediate steps to shut down Enbridge Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac during dangerous fall and winter conditions.
Fourteen civic, environmental and tribal organizations, citing Coast Guard concerns about Great Lakes oil spill response, said in a letter to Gov. Whitmer that she should secure Enbridge’s immediate commitment to halt the transport of oil through the Straits during ice-covered conditions or when waves exceed 3.3 feet or winds are in excess of 18 mph. Failing that, the groups said the governor should use her legal authority to protect the Great Lakes.
“This fall we have already seen waves in the Great Lakes reach 14 feet and more on several occasions,” said Sean McBrearty, Oil & Water Don’t Mix campaign coordinator. “The U.S. Coast Guard’s top official has told Congress the agency is not ready for a major oil spill incident in the Great Lakes and officials have said the Coast Guard won’t even venture out to address an oil spill when waves are above three feet. Once ice conditions take over in the Straits, oil spill response becomes even more hazardous and unpredictable.”
Jacques LeBlanc Jr, who serves on the Bay Mills Indian Community’s conservation committee, said and oil spill during fall and winter conditions in the Straits would destroy his livelihood as a commercial fisherman.
“Fishing in Michigan’s lakes and rivers is not only a way of life, but tradition of ours that goes back generations,” said LeBlanc. “During the winter months, the damage that a leak in Line 5 could cause is heightened, and would destroy both the commercial fishing industry and the lives of the many tribal fishermen that work to put food on their tables. Without the ability to clean a spill under ice, we will be left waiting to address a cleanup effort, allowing it to continue damaging our state. It is a threat to our businesses and our way of life.”
Concerns about a Great Lakes oil spill were heightened this week with the release of a new state-commissioned financial analysis that said Enbridge’s promise of covering costs and damages from a Great Lakes oil spill are not legally binding. With cleanup and damages from a major Line 5 spill estimated at up to $45 billion, the report’s findings mean the state’s taxpayers could foot the bill for all or part of a major Line 5 pipeline rupture.
The Great Lakes Business Network, which has more than 130 members and originally formed in response to business concerns about the risk of an oil spill at the Straits, called for the shutdown of Line 5.
“We support Attorney General Nessel’s efforts to continue to fight for the protection of our livelihoods from Enbridge and its risky oil pipeline,” said Peter Laing, with Mawby Vineyards and Winery and Great Lakes Business Network Executive Committee member.
Groups signing the letter to Gov. Whitmer are: Chippewa Ottawa Resource Authority, Clean Water Action, For Love of Water, Great Lakes Business Network, League of Women Voters Michigan, Mackinac Straits Alliance, Michigan League of Conservation Voters, National Wildlife Federation, Northern Michigan Environmental Action Council, Oil & Water Don’t Mix, Sierra Club, Straits Area Concerned Citizens for Peace, Justice, and the Environment, TC350, Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council.
Letter to Gov. Whitmer, Coast Guard source materials and other relevant documents can be found here: https://www.oilandwaterdontmix.org/enbridge_financial_assurances_analysis
