This white paper documents that the vast North American oil pipeline network has more than sufficient capacity to ensure that Michigan and Midwest refineries could operate with no economic disruption without Line 5. It also identifies viable solutions that should be implemented to secure necessary propane to Upper Peninsula residents, as well as to transport northern Lower Peninsula oil to southeastern markets.
On May 31, Groundwork and the National Wildlife Federation Great Lakes Regional Center (NWF) hosted a Line 5 Business Reception at the Chippewa Hotel on Mackinac Island to coincide with the start of the Detroit Chamber of Commerce Mackinac Policy Conference the next morning.
Two years ago, practically no one in Michigan was aware of the aging, twin oil pipelines lying at the bottom of the Mackinac Straits. Today, as a result of the Groundwork Center and partners seizing the issue and building a strong public outcry, we are closer to Line 5 becoming the first major oil pipeline in North America to be decommissioned.
Here’s a recap of some of the latest developments in Groundwork’s efforts, as part of the Oil and Water Don’t Mix coalition, to raise awareness of the threats posed by the pipelines in the Mackinac Straits.
Citizens groups, including the Groundwork Center, sharply criticized proposed legislation introduced today that would permanently block public access to pipeline safety records in Michigan, including for high-risk pipelines running through the Straits of Mackinac operated by the controversial Canadian oil conglomerate Enbridge, Inc.
More than a dozen allied environmental groups launched a new website and TV commercial outlining the environmental and economic threats posed by two aging oil pipelines crossing through the Great Lakes at the Mackinac Straits. The website, OilandWaterDontMix.org, features the new commercial and details the danger posed by the daily flow of nearly 23 million gallons of oil through pipelines lying on the bottom of the Straits just west of the Mackinac Bridge.