On August 22, the Environmental Law & Policy Center and the National Wildlife Federation filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Coast Guard, stating that the USCG do not have an adequate strategy for dealing with oil spills in the channel linking Lake Huron and Michigan.
Last year, the Coast Guard approved a plan for responding to spills in northern Michigan, including the Straits of Mackinac. A section of Enbridge Inc.’s Line 5 oil pipeline runs beneath the straits; however, Coast Guard leaders have since acknowledged they’re unprepared to clean up a spill in open Great Lakes waters. The advocacy groups say Line 5 cannot legally operate without a valid response plan.
