City of Ann Arbor - File #: 16-0852

• File #: 16-0852
• Version: 1
• Name: 6/6/16 Resolution Opposing Oil Transport through Enbridge Energy Line 5
• Type: Resolution
• Status: Passed
• File created: 6/6/2016
• In control: City Council
• On agenda: 6/6/2016
• Final action: 6/6/2016
• Enactment date: 6/6/2016
• Enactment #: R-16-232
• Title: Resolution Opposing Oil Transport through the Enbridge Energy Line 5 Pipeline
• Sponsors: Chip Smith, Sabra Briere, Christopher Taylor, Chuck Warpehoski, Kirk Westphal, Zachary Ackerman

Date	Ver.	Action By	Action	Result
6/6/2016	1	City Council	Approved	Pass

Title
Resolution Opposing Oil Transport through the Enbridge Energy Line 5 Pipeline
Body
Whereas, Line 5 is a set of twin, 63 year old pipelines owned by Enbridge Energy that carry light crude oil and natural gas under the Straits of Mackinac;

Whereas, According to a recent University of Michigan study, more than 700 miles of Great Lakes shoreline and over 17,000 square miles of open water in Lakes Michigan and Huron are potentially at risk from breaks in Line 5 under the Straits of Mackinac;

Whereas, The currents in the Straits of Mackinac at peak volumetric transport can be more than 10 times greater than the flow of Niagara Falls and switch bi directionally from east to west;

Whereas, The Great Lakes contain 20 percent of the world's fresh, available, surface water and are a drinking water source for over 35 million people;

Whereas, One out of every five jobs in Michigan is linked to the high quality and quantity of fresh water in the Great Lakes;

Whereas, Recreational tourism, agriculture, fisheries, shipping and industry depend on the health of the Great Lakes;

Whereas, Enbridge Energy was responsible for the largest inland oil spill in U.S. history when Line 6b ruptured near Kalamazoo in 2010 allowing almost 1 million gallons of oil to leak into the Kalamazoo River for 17 hours before shutting down the line;

Whereas, Oil recovery in the Straits of Mackinac would be extremely difficult as evidenced by the Coast Guard Commandant testifying before Congress in 2015 that the Coast Guard would be unable to respond effectively to an open water oil spill in the heart of the Great Lakes;

Whereas, As Michiganders we have a responsibility to be wise stewards of the waters of our state for generations to come; and

Whereas, Protection of Michigan's water supplies and resources is better accomplished by prevention of contamination and environmental degradation, rather than attempting to clean up contamination to restore degraded environment...