TO CLOSE

In this video prepared by Enbridge, the company provides an overview of the two alternatives to Line 5 Pipeline in Mackinac Sound.
Enbridge, Detroit Free Press

A diver working for the National Wildlife Federation, a non-profit organization, inspects Line 5 pipelines at the bottom of the lake in the Mackinac Strait during a dive in July 2013.(Photo: National Wildlife Federation)

Canadian oil and gas giant Enbridge announced Wednesday a new agreement to build a new pipeline across the Mackinac Strait, but in a tunnel located a hundred meters from the river. area where Lakes Michigan and Huron meet.

The huge project would take between 7 and 10 years and would cost between $ 300 and $ 650 million. State officials pointed out that it would be Enbridge's taxpayers, not the Michigan taxpayers, who would bear that bill. This would create a utility corridor containing not only a new 30-inch Line 5 pipeline for oil and liquefied natural gas crossing the Mackinac Sound, but also a utility corridor that could also include power lines, telecommunication cables and other similar infrastructure of the company. . The corridor would be large enough for vehicles to circulate, allowing inspectors to assess the condition of the pipeline.

The agreement in preparation would put an end to the uncertainty surrounding the controversial and operating 65-year-old Line 5 pipeline on the bottom of the straits – improving the protection of the environment of Great Lakes and Michigan and bringing certainty to the Upper Peninsula's energy supply, said the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Director, Keith Creagh, co-chair of Governor Rick Snyder's Pipeline Safety Advisory Council.

"It's a reasonable, thoughtful and pragmatic solution," he said.

Enbridge spokesman Ryan Duffy added, "The agreement protects the waters of the Strait and the Great Lakes in many ways, and makes a safe pipeline even safer."

But environmental groups were less enthusiastic.

"Today, Governor Snyder has consolidated his catastrophic legacy for the Great Lakes and the people of Michigan," said Sean McBearty, organizer of the Michigan Clean Water Action Program, a non-profit organization.

"As his administration comes to an end, he announced a last-minute deal with Enbridge Energy, which will keep the Great Lakes out of a massive oil spill on Line 5 in the near future."

Mike Shriberg, Regional Executive Director of the National Wildlife Federation, a non-profit organization and member of the Pipeline Safety Advisory Committee, said the plan would keep aging Pipeline 5 pipelines on the bottom of the Strait for a long time. coming decade. – with the already existing concerns about the lack of protective coatings on the pipe, the missing anchors that hold it at the bottom of the lake, etc.

"Although we reserve our judgment until we fully review the last agreement, any agreement that does not begin with a Decommissioning Plan for Line 5 in the Strait in less than a year is ineffective" , did he declare. "We know that Line 5 is a threat to the Great Lakes and our way of life, while a tunnel, if it's ever built, is in many years."

Line 5 moves 23 million gallons of petroleum and natural gas liquids per day through the Upper Peninsula, dividing into two subsea pipelines crossing the 4-mile strait, before returning to a single transmission pipeline crossing the lower peninsula. hub in Sarnia, Ontario.

Concerned citizens and environmentalists have called for the decommissioning of 65-year-old Straits pipelines, reporting a spill similar to that in the region. Enbridge's Line 6B pipeline near the Kalamazoo River in 2010 would have devastating impacts on Great Lakes, shoreline and island communities, as well as the state's economy.

Under the new agreement between the state and Enbridge, the company would build a utility corridor under the Strait and, once completed, transfer its ownership to the Mackinac Bridge Authority, an independent public agency that operates the Mackinac Bridge and finance. by tolls. . Enbridge would then benefit from a 99-year lease for the use of the corridor and would remain responsible for the operation and maintenance of the tunnel, added Mr. Creagh.

Creagh mentioned a concern for pipeline critics: the fact that a new pipeline would allow Enbridge to send larger quantities of crude oil into the strait, including the type of diluted heavy bitumen that has bottom of the Kalamazoo River and caused major pollution remediation problems. the 2010 spill.

"It will be a new 30-inch pipe that will replace the current division into two pipes under the strait – no increase in capacity, no heavy crude, the same products that are currently passing through it", he said. -he declares.

The new agreement with Enbridge contains many details that still need to be resolved, including the role that the US Army Corps of Engineers or other federal agencies will have in evaluating the project and its potential impact on the project. environment. But Creagh said state officials wanted the deal with Enbridge to be finalized before Snyder's departure in late December.

The Michigan Chemistry Council applauded the Tunnel Agreement on Wednesday.

"Just like the original Mackinac Bridge and Line 5 in the 1950s, this new project will help connect the two peninsulas of Michigan in an innovative and forward-thinking way," said Executive Director John Dulmes. "We are excited to see how scientists, engineers and workers will put this plan in place."

More on freep.com:

Forget the tunnel: close line 5 before the disaster

Official says pipeline in Line 5 does not pose a high risk of spills

The deal, concluded as Snyder's term comes to an end, may be a controversial topic in the campaign to succeed him. Democratic candidate Gretchen Whitmer is committed to closing line 5 if she is elected governor in November. His Republican opponent, state Attorney General Bill Schuette, has approved the tunnel option.

It was not clear right away if the next administration would have the legal authority to cancel the agreement. Michigan owns the Strait Bottomlands and granted an easement to Enbridge when laying the pipes in 1953. According to Creagh, any effort to cancel it would trigger a long and costly court battle.

The agreement includes provisions to reduce the risk of leakage of existing pipelines during tunnel construction and to ensure close collaboration between Enbridge and the state after the new pipeline is commissioned, officials said. .

Among them: underwater inspections to detect potential leaks and evaluate the coating of pipes; setting up cameras at the straits to monitor the activity of the vessels and help to impose a non-anchoring zone; a commitment that Enbridge staff will be available during major waves to manually shut down pipelines in the event of a failure of electronic systems; and measures to prevent leakage at other locations where Line 5 crosses waterways.

The agreement also includes a process for dealing with existing oil pipelines after their deactivation, although it leaves open the question of how much material from the pipeline will be removed.

Associated Press contributed to this report. Contact Keith Matheny: (313) 222-5021 or [email protected]. Follow on Twitter @keithmatheny.

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