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 environments after the fact;
Whereas, The state of Michigan has the authority to stop oil flowing through the Straits of Mackinac through an easement granted to Enbridge Energy in 1953; and
Whereas, The Ann Arbor Energy Commission and Ann Arbor Environmental Commission have both passed this resolution and recommend that the Ann Arbor City Council do the same;
RESOLVED, That the Ann Arbor City Council supports stopping the transportation of oil through the Straits of Mackinac through Enbridge Energy’s Line 5;
RESOLVED, That the Ann Arbor City Council supports H.R. 182 and C.R. 15 calling on Governor Snyder and Attorney General Schuette to shut down Line 5’s transport of oil through the Straits of Mackinac; and
RESOLVED, That the City Council send a letter to Governor Snyder, Attorney General Schuette, State Representatives Irwin and Zemke, State Senator Warren and U.S. Senators Peters and Stabenow calling on them to take swift action to shut down Line 5.
Sponsors: Councilmembers Smith, Briere, Warpehoski, Westphal, Ackerman and Mayor Taylor