A Decade since the Kalamazoo River Oil Spill.
- Brandon Michael Chew
- Jul 25, 2020
- 3 min read
The largest in-land oil spill in U.S. history occurred ten years ago today when on July 25, 2010, Enbridge’s Line 6B pipeline leaked over a million gallons of crude oil into the Kalamazoo River.
The control room operators for the pipeline were located in Alberta, and failed to minimize the damage of the oil spill, as they assumed the pipeline had a pressure issue.
A federal investigation by The National Transportation Safety Board concluded that “the control center staff failed to recognize that the pipeline had ruptured until notified by an outside caller more than 17 hours later.”
Despite being notified of the leak “the control center staff pumped additional oil into the rupture pipeline for about 1.5 hours,” on July 26.
The investigation further concluded that Enbrige failed to adequately inspect crack defects and corrosion of the pipeline. Enbridge was found to have underwhelming clean up efforts, allowing more crude oil into the water system.
The Kalamazoo River (2010).
A decade later, and the company responsible for this oil spill has applied for the authorization to build an oil pipeline tunnel under the Straits of Mackinac to replace Line 5.
Line 5 is a pipeline owned by Enbridge Incorporated that has leaked at least a million gallons of crude oil into the Great Lakes since 1968, according to Clean Water Action, an environmental advocacy group.
“Line 5 each day carries 23 million gallons (87 million liters) of crude oil and natural gas liquids used for propane. It divides into two pipes beneath the straits, which links Lakes Michigan and Huron -- an ecologically sensitive area and popular tourist destination,” (Flesher, 2020).
“The Great Lakes Tunnel Project,” presents the opportunity of jobs for Michiganders, according to supporters of the pipeline.
“Building and operating the Great Lakes Tunnel will require roughly 2 million manhours of labor -- largely Michigan labor,” (Graham, Walsh, 2020). “It’s a project that means hundreds of millions in capital investment, tens of millions in local property sales, and income tax revenue our local communities count on every day.”
Some have even tried to support the idea that the tunnel’s construction is popular among Michigan residents.
“[The Great Lakes Tunnel] protects our jobs,” (Bonovetz, Hentschel, 2019). “It protects our families and protects our environment. So it’s not hard to see why Northern Michigan communities support the Great Lakes tunnel, and why the rest of the state should follow their lead.”
Despite this assumption a 2018 poll conducted by EPIC-MRA found that “87% of Michigan residents are concerned about Line 5,” and that “64% of northern Michigan Voters want Line 5 shut down.”
“In every region, voters who want Line 5 shut down outnumber those who want to keep it open by at least 20 points,” (EPIC-MRA, 2018).
The poll also concluded that “78% of Trump favorable voters are concerned about Line 5.”
In June 2020, the Environmental Protection Agency fined Enbridge $6.7 million for “failing to address cracks and corrosion through digs on its pipelines,” (Kaeding, 2020).
The Mackinac Bridge, located at the Straits of Mackinac.
The Great Lakes are one of the world’s largest surface freshwater ecosystems and account for “84% of North America’s surface fresh water” and “about 21% of the world’s supply of surface fresh water,” (EPA).
If a major oil spill were to occur at the Straits of Mackinac, millions of gallons of oil would flow into Lakes Michigan and Huron, not only devastating the ecosystem, but also the tourism industry in Northern Michigan, resulting in a loss of jobs for people who depend on tourism revenue.
Enbridge’s safety record shows that the company cannot be trusted to build an environmentally safe tunnel to replace Line 5, and every day that Line 5 is not completely shut down presents an existential crisis for one of the largest freshwater ecosystems in the world.
Take Action - “Stop Line 5!”
SOURCES:
National Transportation Safety Board. (2012). Enbridge Incorporated Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Rupture and Release. ntsb.gov. Retrieved from https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Pages/PAR1201.aspx
Clean Water Action. Line 5: A History. cleanwateraction.org. Retrieved from https://www.cleanwateraction.org/features/line-5-history
Flesher, J. (2020). Enbridge seeks permits to build Great Lakes oil tunnel. greatlakesnow.org. Retrieved from https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/ap-enbridge-permits-great-lakes-oil-pipeline-tunnel/
Graham, L., Walsh, J. (2020). Opinion | Why we’re uniting to back construction of Great Lakes Tunnel. bridgemi.com. Retrieved from https://www.bridgemi.com/guest-commentary/opinion-why-were-uniting-back-construction-great-lakes-tunnel
Bonovetz, J., Hentschel, R. (2019). Opinion: Northern Michigan wants the Great Lakes tunnel. detroitnews.com. Retrieved from https://docs.google.com/document/d/16eDewKCA7mHfmSjhVSP1r0M5Xw9LlfAnqNXHIUOP9XY/edit
EPIC-MRA STATEWIDE POLL OF ACTIVE AND LIKELY NOVEMBER 2018 VOTERS
Kaeding, D. (2020). EPA fines Enbridge $6.7M for Failing to Swiftly Address Cracks, Corrosion Through Digs. wpr.org. Retrieved from https://www.wpr.org/epa-fines-enbridge-6-7m-failing-swiftly-address-cracks-corrosion-through-digs?qt-popularity=0
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