Meetings Planned For Public Response To Oil Pipeline Report
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (WWJ/AP) - The public is getting a chance to sound off about a recent report outlining alternatives for twin oil pipelines beneath the Straits of Mackinac.
The report by independent contractor Dynamic Risk Assessment Systems Inc. dealt with Enbridge's Line 5. The nearly 5-mile-long segment beneath the waterway where Lakes Michigan and Huron meet is divided into two lines.
Environmental groups say the pipelines are old and should be decommissioned, while the company says they're in good shape.
An outer layer of protective covering has worn away in some places, while skeptics said the deterioration is further evidence the lines should be shut down.
Officials with Enbridge Inc. said the exterior material is not essential to the pipes' integrity and there is no reason for concern about its absence in spots along the lines extending nearly 5 miles along the bottomlands of the Straits of Mackinac.
Options in the report include leaving the lines in place, rerouting them, running them through a tunnel, or transporting the oil they carry another way.
Public feedback sessions are scheduled for Monday at 8 a.m. in Holt and 6 p.m. in Traverse City. Another will be Tuesday in St. Ignace at 6 p.m.
(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
