Enbridge Energy will replace a section of a controversial pipeline that runs beneath the Saint Clair River with a tunnel. It will also examine similar treatment for a section of Line Five that runs beneath the Straits of Mackinac. It’s part of an interim deal between the state and the energy company.
The deal also calls for Enbridge to stop pumping oil and gas beneath the Straits of Mackinac when weather conditions would make it difficult to respond to a spill.
Relations between the company and the state have grown tense in recent months.
Valerie Brater directs the Michigan Agency for Energy. She is one of the state officials who’s blasted Enbridge for failing to share details on potential safety issues with Line Five.
“Business as usual is no longer acceptable.”
Enbridge and the state are still negotiating a permanent agreement on the future of Line Five. The deadline for wrapping that up is August 15th of 2018. Brater says shutting down the line remains an option.