Enbridge Energy Running Oil Spill Mitigation Practice Exercise Near Mackinac
Enbridge Energy is running-through a practice response to an oil leak under the Straits of Mackinac.
The Line 5 pipeline carries petroleum products 645 miles from Wisconsin to Ontario in two pipes that sit in the water along the lake bed.
Enbridge Energy is running drills tomorrow to deal with a potential oil spill from its pipeline under the Straits of Mackinac. The company will use the exercise to understand how best to protect the waters of the Great Lakes, should an oil leak occur. Enbridge spokesperson Graham White says the drill will go through the damage mitigation process.
“First goal is to reduce, as much as possible, the volume out, and we do that with early detection and with shutting the line down, and in fact there’s automatic shut off valves on both sides of the line, and then emergency responders, again, we’re talking minutes in our initial responses, and then a full ramped-up… clean-up response with everyone in place. With that we’re talking hours.”
-Graham White, Enbridge Energy Spokesperson
White says Enbridge will briefly shut down its Mackinac pipeline during the drill, due to the heightened amount of activity occurring. He says the drill will be one of the biggest exercises of its kind for the company this year.
