Michigan LCV: Enbridge’s anchor drop another close call for Line 5

AFTER CONTINUING TO ILLEGALLY OPERATE OIL PIPELINE, ENBRIDGE CONTRACTOR LOSES 15,000-POUND ANCHOR IN STRAITS OF MACKINAC 

LANSING – The Michigan League of Conservation Voters today issued the following statement after the news Enbridge Energy is being ordered by the state to remove a 15,000-pound anchor near the 68-year-old Line 5 oil pipeline.

“Enbridge Energy continues to play Russian roulette with our Great Lakes, this time dropping a 15,000-pound anchor between the aging oil pipeline beneath the Straits of Mackinac,” said Bentley Johnson, Federal Government Affairs Director for the Michigan League of Conservation Voters. “There have been too many close calls for Line 5, which has been damaged by anchor strikes in the past. Time and again Enbridge has ignored the state’s oversight and thwarted accountability, including operating Line 5 illegally after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer revoked its state easement. We must shut down Line 5 before we have a catastrophe on our hands.”

Enbridge has an extremely poor track record when it comes to maintenance and safety for the dual pipelines, time and again demonstrating negligence for the health of our Great Lakes.

• In 2017, state officials identified several areas along the pipeline where protective coating had been worn down to bare metal, increasing the risk of corrosion.
• In 2018, an anchor struck Line 5, denting the pipelines and causing 600 gallons of insulation fluid to leak into the Straits of Mackinac.
• In 2020, significant damage was incurred on anchor supports less than 200 feet from where protective coating was damaged less than a month previously.