Michigan: Ban Heavy Oil From Straits Of Mackinac Pipeline

By DAVID EGGERT
Associated Press

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Michigan officials say they will ban heavy crude oil from being transported along a controversial pipeline running beneath the scenic waterway where Lakes Huron and Michigan meet.

Attorney General Bill Schuette and Dan Wyant, director of the Department of Environmental Quality, said Tuesday carrying heavier oil would "unreasonably" put the Great Lakes at risk.

Enbridge Energy Partners LP says only light crude presently moves through its two side-by-side pipes beneath the Straits of Mackinac.

Michigan officials also recommend requiring an independent analysis of alternatives to the pipelines, and ensuring Enbridge has adequate liability coverage in the case of a "worst-case scenario spill."

Many environmental groups want the pipelines shut down. They fear a spill similar to one from another Enbridge pipeline that severely polluted the Kalamazoo River in 2010.

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