A report released Thursday outlines alternatives to running an energy pipeline beneath the Great Lakes. It also says Enbridge’s Line 5 is safe to operate for the foreseeable future.
More than 23 (m) million gallons of oil and natural gas travel through Line 5 daily, including a five-mile stretch that runs beneath the Straits of Mackinac.
Enbridge says the report shows its maintenance and improvements are working to keep the 65-year-old pipeline reliable and safe.
But David Holtz of the Sierra Club says there is no risk-free way to operate a pipeline in the Great Lakes.
“The Great Lakes are no place for oil pipelines," said Holtz.
The report says one alternative to a pipeline on the lakebed is burying it. That’s an approach endorsed by Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, who co-chairs a pipeline safety task force.