The Line 5 pipeline that runs directly underneath the Straights of Mackinac is aging, and many environmentalists and scientists are concerned that a catastrophic oil spill is imminent.
The pipeline, run by Canada-based Enbridge Energy, is 62 years old and moves an estimated 23 million gallons of oil and natural gas through the Straits each day.
Back in 2010, another Enbridge pipeline leaked 800,000 gallons of oil into the Kalamazoo River, creating the largest inland oil spill in the nation’s history. Many fear that this also could happen to the Line 5 pipeline. Environmentalists are pushing to have the pipeline shut down and are asking state officials to step in and assist.
Shipwreck photo by Enbridge inspection video
