FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE More information: David Holtz - 313-300-4454
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
Sierra Club Calls for Federal, State Action In Wake of New Enbridge Pipeline Leak
Statement of Sierra Club Michigan Chapter Chair David Holtz on Today's Enbridge Pipeline Leak Disclosure
“The announcement today that a “pinhole leak” was found in the Enbridge Line 5 in the Upper Peninsula underscores the urgency of federal and state agencies scrutinizing potential environmental threats posed by this sixty year old pipeline as it crosses our public lands. Enbridge Line 5 carries oil products from Michigan’s border with Wisconsin to Ontario, crossing under state and national public lands as well as inland rivers, the St. Clair River and the Straits of Mackinac. However, there has never been an environmental review under state or federal laws about the impact a spill or break would pose to our air, land and water.
“In Michigan, where the largest inland oil spill ever occurred when Enbridge Line 6B contaminated Marshall and the Kalamazoo River, we know that industry assurances that these pipelines are perfectly safe are meaningless without rigorous, scientific review of the environmental effects. This small leak is a wake-up call that demands immediate action by our federal and state land management and environmental agencies to publicly disclose the full extent of potential environmental threats posed by this pipeline, and open a long overdue public debate about whether the threat to our state’s waters and land are too great a risk to take."
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