News

Big name retailers join fight against Enbridge pipeline

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By STEVEN MAIER
Capital News Service
LANSING — The chorus of voices calling for the decommissioning of a twin oil pipeline running across the bottom of the Straits of Mackinac has become more diversified. A network of 18 businesses, all but one based in Michigan, recently announced support for halting use of the controversial pipeline. The Great Lakes Business Network, formed in December, is supported by the National Wildlife Federation and the Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities in Traverse City. It’s also collaborating with the Michigan League of Conservation Voters. Line 5 is a pipeline operated by Enbridge Inc. that runs 645 miles from Wisconsin to Ontario and carries 540,000 barrels of oil per day.

Environment

Federal report proposes pipeline safety steps

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By MICHAEL GERSTEIN
Capital News Service
LANSING — In the summer of 2010, more than 800,000 gallons of oil burst from a faulty Enbridge Inc. pipeline, wreaking ecological havoc as the oil passed through the Kalamazoo River, stopping just 80 miles from Lake Michigan. The rupture near Marshall caused the oil to flow 30 miles downstream before it was contained, but residual contamination persists. Last October, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) notified Enbridge that additional work is required to clean up the spill. Now a national study from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is proposing measures to prevent future calamities. The GAO — a nonpartisan investigative agency of Congress — aimed the study at the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, which works with state agencies to oversee pipelines carrying oil, gasoline and natural gas.