The State of Michigan Must Permanently Decommission Enbridge’s Line 5

Fact Sheet • April 2015

WATER

Two pipelines collectively known as Line 5 run under the Straits of Mackinac, a waterway joining Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.1 Any sort of leakage

from Line 5, which carries light crude oil and natural gas liquids,2 would spew toxins into the Great Lakes, the largest cluster of freshwater lakes in the world3 and the drinking water source for over 35 million people.4 The Lakes contain roughly 20 percent of the global surface freshwater supply and are home to 10 percent of the U.S. population, 30 percent of Canada’s population and various species of flora and fauna, several of which are endangered or threatened.5 Line 5 poses a significant threat to the Great Lakes and Michigan.

Line 5 is a public trust issue for both the Great Lakes and the State of Michigan. Line 5 was built in 1953,6 before a law known as the Great

Lakes Submerged Lands Act was adopted.7 Now, because of

the Act, if a company sought to build a pipeline on the bottom

of the Great Lakes, it would have to go through a permitting

process to ensure that the pipeline’s use of the Lakes would

not pose a threat to the waters or to the public’s use of the

waters — such as fishing or navigation.8 Line 5 has not had

to get approval for its use and for its occupation of the Great

Lakes bottomlands. 

A hydrocarbon release in the Straits of Mackinac could

have significant social, environmental and economic

impacts. One out of every five jobs in Michigan is linked to

the high quality and quantity of fresh water,9 and, according

to Michigan State University Extension, “Tourism is one of

Michigan’s largest income industries based on the billions of

travelers’ dollars spent, generation of state and local taxes,

and the nearly 150,000 jobs it creates.”10 Even Governor

Snyder’s Pure Michigan tourism campaign boasts about the

magnificence of the Great Lakes, which brought in $1.2 billion

in visitor spending in 2013.11

Agriculture, fisheries and shipping/transportation also depend

on the Great Lakes,12 which deliver over 50 billion gallons of

water daily for industrial, agricultural and municipal uses.13

In 2009, the Lakes were linked to over 1.5 million jobs,14 with

Michigan accounting for 35 percent of the jobs.15

A 2014 University of Michigan study determined that

the Straits of Mackinac are the “worst possible place”

for a contaminant release, such as an oil spill, in the

Great Lakes.16 Every few days, the strong currents — which

at peak volumetric transport can be more than 10 times

greater than the flow of Niagara Falls — switch bi-direction-

ally from eastward to westward.17 Depending on the course

of movement at the time of a “contaminant release,” con-

taminants could be “transported eastward into Lake Huron

or westward into Lake Michigan — and may move back and

forth through the Straits several times.”18

Within 20 days of a spill or leak, contaminants could cover

large ground — diffusing material both southeasterly to Rog-

ers City in Lake Huron and westerly to Beaver Island in Lake

Michigan.19 A contaminant release in the Straits could severely

impair the surrounding ecologically sensitive areas.20

Enbridge has a questionable track record. In general,

pipelines pose huge risks of spills. Line 5’s aging condition

only amplifies the risk. In 2013, a filmed dive along Line 5,

sponsored by the National Wildlife Federation, discovered

undetected “structural defects,”21 and in December 2014, a

“pinhole” leak was detected in the Upper Peninsula.22

From 2005 to 2013, Enbridge spilled or released roughly 91,855

barrels of hydrocarbon products, such as crude oil and natural

gas, around the country. From 1996 to 2013, the number of

reportable* spills, leaks and releases more than doubled, from

54 to 117, with a total of 1,244 reportable incidents for those

17 years.23 Just last summer, Enbridge’s Line 5 was found in

violation of the spacing requirements of its 1953 easement,

due to missing support structures.24

One of the worst and most expensive oil spills in U.S.

history came from an Enbridge pipeline failure in July

2010.25 Line 6b ruptured near Talmadge Creek, a tributary

of Michigan’s Kalamazoo River, spilling as much as 1 million

gallons of tar sands crude. The spill devastated sensitive eco-

systems and impacted people living in nearby communities,

and the inland cleanup cost about $1 billion.26 According to a

sample of Michigan residents, over one third of people living

in impacted communities relocated due to local air pollution.

Locals exposed to the spill reported troubling neurological,

respiratory and gastrointestinal problems.27 Line 6b was aging infrastructure, much like Line 5, having

been built in the 1960s.28 The National Transportation Safety

Board (NTSB) attributed the spill to pipeline corrosion and

“pervasive organizational failures.”29 According to the NTSB,

Enbridge was aware that the section of the pipeline that

ultimately burst was vulnerable, yet it failed to act on the

information.30

ConclusionThe Great Lakes Submerged Lands Act is a keystone principle

of Michigan’s public trust doctrine.31 Yet decision makers in

Michigan allow the continuation of Line 5 and its occupation

of the bottomlands. Allowing Line 5 to continue operating

puts the Great Lakes and the region’s environment, public

health and economy at risk, solely for the benefit of a com-

pany’s profits. Piping millions of barrels of toxic hydrocarbons

throughout the Straits is not in Michigan’s public interest.

Line 5 must be permanently decommissioned. Allowing this

ticking time bomb to stay in operation would be to the detri-

ment of the Great Lakes and of the countless people whose

livelihoods depend on them.

* According to Addendum to Enbridge’s 2013 Corporate Social Responsibil-ity Report, on page 2, a reportable spill, leak or release is one that is

Endnotes --

-

Case Western Reserve Law Review.

Ibid

State of the Great Lakes 2014 at

State of the Great Lakes 2014

-

Ibid

see -

Ibid

Ibid

Interlochen Public Radio.

-

-

InsideClimateNews

NPR, All Things Considered.

InsideClimateNews

Michigan Live

The Tyee.

-Washington Post

CBC News

Great Lakes Bulletin News Service.

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Copyright © April 2015 Food & Water Watch