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State Orders Enbridge To Fix Pipeline Through Mackinac Straits

Enbridge Energy sign in front of a forest
Courtesy
/
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Detroit Field Division

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette and the state Department of Environmental Quality have told Enbridge Energy the company has to do a better job of securing an oil pipeline that runs through the Straits of Mackinac.

The Michigan Public Radio Network’s Rick Pluta explains.

The pipeline is part of a 1900-mile network that runs from North Dakota to Sarnia-Canada.

Dan Wyant is the director of the DEQ. He says a state inquiry found the 60-year-old Enbridge pipeline that runs through the Mackinac Straits has fewer supports anchoring it than what’s called for in its lease with the state.

“We just want to make sure that this pipeline’s going to be safe,” he says.

Wyant says a leak in the pipeline would have implications throughout the Great Lakes.

Enbridge quickly responded. The company plans to add the anchors as part of its routine maintenance. That should be done in about three months.

Rick Pluta is Senior Capitol Correspondent for the Michigan Public Radio Network. He has been covering Michigan’s Capitol, government, and politics since 1987. His journalism background includes stints with UPI, The Elizabeth (NJ) Daily Journal, The (Pontiac, MI) Oakland Press, and WJR. He is also a lifelong public radio listener.
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