A Michigan regulatory panel said Thursday that it needs more information about the security risks before it can rule of enbridge There are plans to extend an oil pipeline through a tunnel under the waterway connecting the two Great Lakes.
The State Public Service Commission voted 3-0 to seek more information about the potential for explosions and fires involving electrical equipment during tunnel construction under the Mackinac Strait.
Commission approval would be required for Enbridge to replace two existing Line 5 pipes in the strait, which connects Lake Huron and Lake Michigan, with a new section that would run through a proposed underground tunnel.
“It’s been an extensive process,” said chairman Dan Scripps. “We want to make sure we do it right.”
Enbridge and Michigan are embroiled in a legal battle at State Line 5. The 69-year-old underground pipeline carries Canadian oil and natural gas liquids used for propane through northern Michigan and Wisconsin to refineries in Sarnia, Ont.
A 6.4-kilometer-long section is divided into double pipes that cross the bottom of the strait.
Read more: Ottawa files court brief supporting Enbridge in Line 5 dispute with Michigan
Enbridge is defying Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s 2020 order to close the line, a move long sought by environmental and indigenous groups who fear breaking up will devastate the lakes. The company says the line is in good standing and claims in a federal lawsuit that the Democratic governor does not have jurisdiction to close it.
Enbridge, located in Calgary, reached a deal in 2018 with former Republican Gov. Rick Snyder to build the tunnel worth $500 million. Enbridge has obtained permits from the Michigan Department of the Environment, Great Lakes and Energy and is awaiting word from the US Army Corps of Engineers as well as the Michigan Public Service Commission.
The commission said last year that it would not pass a decision on whether it should continue to operate the entire 1,038-km line, focusing on the underwater section.
Its three members are appointed by Whitmer. Scripps and Tremaine Phillips are Democrats, while Katherine Peretic is an independent.
The commission, in its order on Thursday, said testimony, demonstrations and briefings contained little information about tunnel engineering and hazards.
There is also a lack of information on the safety and maintenance of dual pipelines, “including leak detection systems and shutdown procedures”, the order said.
Interviewed by telephone after the meeting in Lansing, Scripps said that Enbridge had estimated the possibility of oil leaking out of the tunnel’s pipe as “one in a million”. The commission would like to know how this figure was calculated, as well as take steps to eliminate that possibility.
In a statement, Enbridge said it had already provided “extensive” material on those matters, but would respond to further questions.
“The engineering and design of the tunnel has been developed in accordance with the tunnel agreement entered into with the state, and is in close coordination with the Mackinac Straits Corridor Authority to ensure its safety and design life,” the company said.
The Corridor Authority was created under Snyder to oversee construction and operation of the tunnel.
Pipeline critics praised the commission’s push to learn more.
“Enbridge has not proven viability or safety for this project,” said Beth Wallace of the National Wildlife Federation. “Enbridge has proven time and again that they cannot be relied upon to operate Line 5 and should not be relied upon to detonate a tunnel through the Great Lakes.”
The commission’s decision was the latest of several delays for the tunnel, which the company had originally promised to complete by 2024. The Army Corps is conducting a lengthy environmental impact study.
Enbridge said it was committed to the project.
The Great Lakes Michigan Jobs Coalition, which represents industry and labor groups, urged the commission to “get back to work, advance the tunnel project, and protect thousands of Michigan jobs.”
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