Canada chooses to ignore Line 5 risk, omits dangerous pipeline from new report
Canadian agency removes any reference to Line 5 risk from key environmental planning report
LANSING – Oil & Water Don’t Mix voiced concern today that the Government of Canada omitted the massive risk posed by Enbridge Energy’s 64-year-old Line 5 pipelines from its Lakewide Action and Management Plan (LAMP), a comprehensive plan for restoring and protecting Lake Huron.
“It is clear that Canada is committed to maximizing profits for Canadian oil companies by skirting the facts about the Line 5 pipelines, regardless of the devastating impact of a Line 5 oil spill on our Great Lakes,” said David Holtz, chair of the Sierra Club Michigan Chapter and campaign coordinator forOil & Water Don’t Mix. “Michiganders bear all the risk of an oil spill while Canada keeps pumping oil through the aging pipelines, which is why we’re counting on Attorney General Schuette to stand up for Michiganders and shut down Line 5.”
The 2012 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement between Canada and the United States requires both governments to work together to develop a protection plan for each of the Great Lakes that identifies threats to each lake.
Environment and Climate Change Canada, a Canadian government agency, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are responsible for developing the LAMPs. The draft report that omits Enbridge Line 5, follows a letter sent last week from the Ontario Minister of Energy to the state of Michigan requesting Gov. Rick Snyder keep oil flowing through Line 5 – a clear sign that Canada is working hard to keep Line 5 pumping, no matter the risk to Michigan.
The deadline for public comment on the Lake Huron plan is Sept. 5. Comments can be submitted at https://binational.net/2017/07/21/lhlamp-pddplh/.
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Oil & Water Don’t Mix is a broad campaign of organizations, citizens and businesses across Michigan who are working to keep oil out of our Great Lakes by shutting down the dangerous, 64-year-old Line 5 Pipelines in the Straits of Mackinac. The campaign fights for clean water and air, Indigenous rights, reducing pollution, sustainable economies and protecting sporting, tourism and jobs that are dependent on our water and Pure Michigan way of life.
Learn more at www.oilandwaterdontmix.org.
