LINE 5

    KEYSTONE XL  is probably more recognizable to folks around here than LINE 5 is, but the latter is located closer to our homes and maybe even closer to your cottage. Line 5 is a pipeline that carries lots of petroleum products from Superior, Wisconsin to Sarnia, Ontario and it passes under the Straits of Mackinac which is the focus of concern. It is closer than you think. If the pipes there were to burst, the oil could, depending upon the currents and weather, end up in a Great Lake near you. If it is shut down to prevent such a catastrophe, people around here will lose their jobs and the price of our gasoline will probably go up. 

   Those are the concerns expressed in the article from which the picture above was taken. In it, the Prime Minister is asked for help since Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has ordered that Line 5 be shut down, and it will be in early May unless something is done. Perhaps that is why some 'Yoopers' with long guns showed up at the state house in Lansing, since they may not have enough propane if Line 5 is put out of commission. Perhaps some Canadians would have joined them if the border had been open. There seems to be more concern on this side of the border about the loss of the energy source than there is about the potential despoliation of the environment. Those who favour keeping the pipeline open say it has been there since 1953. Those who worry about the environment say, well, it has been there since 1953!

   The noise over Line 5 and the news about it will surely increase over the next couple of months as will the arguments. So, here are a few sources that will give you a leg up when the subject comes up. I will start with the article containing the picture.

Sources: 

For the company view start here: ENBRIDGE. 
There is a Wikipedia entry: Enbridge Line 5 

"Prime Minister Asked to Help Save Line 5 Pipeline," Paul Morden, Sarnia Observer, Jan. 18, 2021.
Sarnia-area politicians and labour leaders want Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to appeal directly to U.S. President-elect Joe Biden to keep the Line 5 oil and gas pipeline running through Michigan, where the state’s Democratic governor has ordered it shut down....
Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley wrote to the prime minister this month challenging the legality of the governor’s order and asking Trudeau to speak with Biden directly on the issue. Line 5 carries western oil and natural gas liquids to the refineries, chemical plants and propane users in the U.S. Midwest, as well as Eastern Canada....
This shutdown will put over 4,900 jobs at risk, and jeopardize Ontario and Michigan’s energy supply that we rely on daily,” Greg Rickford, Ontario’s minister of energy, northern development and mines, said in a statement, "Ontario’s four refineries ensure that Ontario, Quebec, Michigan and the entire Great Lakes region are supplied with essential products like home heating fuels, gasoline, diesel and jet fuel,” he said.

"Canadian Officials Displeased With Whitmer's Call to Shut Down Line 5 in Straits

Keith Matheny Nov. 16, 2020, Detroit Free Press.

"U.S. News: U.S., Canada at Odds Over Great Lakes Pipeline," Vipal Monga, The Wall Street Journal, Jan. 20, 2021.

TORONTO -- Canadian and U.S. officials are at odds over the fate of a pipeline underneath the Great Lakes, exacerbating disagreements over energy policy between the two nations as the Biden administration prepares to take office.

Citing environmental concerns, Michigan state officials have told Enbridge Inc. to close its Line 5 pipeline, which carries more than half a million barrels of oil and natural-gas liquids each day from Superior, Wis., to Sarnia, Ontario.

Canadian officials say closing the pipeline would choke off more than half the supply used to make gasoline, jet fuel and home-heating oil for the most populous parts of the country.

The 645-mile pipeline, which is part of Enbridge's mainline system that conveys oil and natural gas liquids from Alberta, feeds refineries in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Ontario and Quebec.

"Pipelines are so vital to the economy and the recovery," said Chris Bloomer, president of the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association, a trade group. "We're hoping for some pragmatism."

 CBC: Enbridge sues Michigan over Line 5 pipeline shutdown order.

   Although the pipeline has been in place for over 60 years, a few years ago a ship dragging an anchor did some damage to it. At that time, there was talk about enclosing it in a tunnel which would have resulted in many jobs on both sides of the border.
"Coast Guard inspected ship before Line 5 anchor dragging,"Beth LeBlanc, Sept. 13, 2020, The Detroit News.

   You may also remember that Enbridge had a problem over a decade ago with the great Kalamazoo River Oil Spill. 

"Reeling’ From COVID, Great Lakes Biz Group Joins Call for Immediate Line 5 Shut Down,"by Andy Balaskovitz,  Tuesday, June 23, 2020.

This is from the Sierra Club - Michigan and it has good graphics and video: "EVERY DAY 67-YEAR-OLD PIPELINES PUSH NEARLY 23 MILLION GALLONS OF OIL THROUGH THE HEART OF THE GREAT LAKES. WHAT IF THEY RUPTURED?"

Decomission Line 5.

National Wildlife Federation

"Gov. Whitmer’s Historic Decision to Shut Down Line 5 a Game Changing Win for the Great Lakes, Wildlife, Climate." Mike Saccone Nov 13, 2020.

Canada to Michigan on Line 5: “We support its continued safe operation”

Here is a major study from the University of Michigan: "Worse Case Oil Spill Straits of Mackinac."

Here is another major study. It is behind a firewall, but the executive summary is provided here:
"Economic Damages From a Worst-case Oil Spill in the Straits of Mackinac. Journal of Great Lakes Research, Richard T. Maelstrom , et al 45, 2019, p.1130.

This paper presents research on the economic damages from a hypothetical worst-case oil spill at the Straits of Mackinac between Lakes Huron and Michigan. This spill could occur because the Enbridge Line 5 oil pipeline traverses the Straits between Michigan’s Upper and Lower Peninsula. We quantify potential economic damages to outdoor recreation, commercial fishing, shipping, residential properties, and energy and water supplies. Damages are estimated for two spill scenarios occurring at the onset of the summer tourism season with extensive shoreline oiling. Using evidence from past spills, economic damages would last for between one and two years and would affect locations on the periphery of the spill area, depending on the activity. We project the loss from the worst-case scenario would be at least $1.3 billion.

To further complicate the controversy, there are also Indigenous issues to consider: "The Drilldown: Enbridge's Line 5 Pipeline to Be Challenged by Four Indigenous Nations," Felixe Denson, iPolitics, Aug. 20, 2020. 

To read about the Great Lakes, see my post on "The American Lakes" - Book Series.

The Bonus:

   I mentioned "YOOPERS" above and they are people from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and they likely weren't the only ones involved, if any actually were.  For more on YOOPERS and such things, see my post on UNOBVIOUS DEMONYMS.