Supplemental Draft EIS Comments

Vous trouverez ci-joint une lettre signée par madame Christine Fréchette, ministre de l'Économie, de l'Innovation et de l'Énergie, au nom du gouvernement du Québec concernant la canalisation 5 d'Enbridge.

I am deeply concerned about the proposed HDD project that would tunnel through the Straits of Mackinaw. I urge you to reject this rushed proposal. The tunnel isn’t a fix; it’s a decade-long construction project followed by a new pipeline. As stewards of the Great Lakes, we should be acting responsibly by dismantling of the fossil fuel infrastructure that is destroying species and the planet has to commence. Michigan has an opportunity to lead the world in undoing an unsustainable system and building a new, better one.

Please see attached comments.

Growing up in Michigan I spent all of my summers at a Great Lake and many times that was at the Straits of Mackinaw. Those waters are pristine and sacred. To put them at risk by drilling for a pipeline is reckless and irresponsible. The people of Michigan need the Great Lakes. It’s what drives our economy and our lives. If we don’t have the lakes what are we left with? Not only must we reject drilling underneath the Straits for a pipeline, we need to reject the pipeline all together. Michiganders cannot afford for these lakes to be contaminated by a foreign irresponsible oil company that has already spilled millions of gallons of oil on American soil. The world cannot risk it either. The Great Lakes form the largest body of fresh water in the world. This pipeline puts a majority of these lakes at risk. Shut down Line 5 now!

I am writing to oppose the horizontal directional drilling (HDD) alternative to the proposed Enbridge Line 5 oil pipeline. I oppose all drilling under the lakebed in the mackinaw straits due to the following concerns:
1. Currently, the tunnel is supposed to be drilled almost directly beneath the west leg of the existing Line 5 pipeline. This siting is concerning especially combined with the lack of geotechnical analysis. The lack of geotechnical analysis all but ensures that unexpected rock formations will be encountered while drilling, which increases the potential for sinkholes to form from the bottomlands and the tunnel itself to cave in during construction. Should either of these happen, disruption on the bottomlands could cause the west leg of Line 5 to shift, possibly causing an oil spill into the Straits of Mackinac.
2. The TBM will use a bentonite slurry, which raises several wastewater concerns. Bentonite drilling slurry often contains more than just bentonite and a SDS listing detailing bentonite slurry ingredients, flocculants, polymers, concrete and grout blend plus misc. other ingredients (e.g. fly ash) used for sealing, water treatment additives, pH adjustment chemicals, and mechanical shop misc. Just the rainwater that accumulates from a bentonite mine will destroy vegetation and kill the soil. What will it do to the benthic community and fish?
3. Enbridge completed roughly one boring for every 950 feet - falling well short of the industry standard and their own consultant’s recommendations for geotechnical research. Contrary to Enbridge’s public statements, this tunnel will not be drilled through bedrock, but much of the tunnel will be drilled through various unconsolidated rocks and soils connected to the Straits bottomlands, especially in the middle of the Straits where Enbridge’s boring samples ​didn’t even hit bedrock​.
4. The amount of groundwater removed during dewatering will change the groundwater flow pattern and there are multiple Part 201 and 213 sites of contamination nearby at both the north and south locations of construction. Exacerbation of contamination is a violation of Part 201/213 of NREPA. This issue has not been evaluated. In addition, the Wellhead Protection Zone (WHP) for the municipal wells for Mackinaw City is very close to the south portal location and area where dewatering will be needed. Any groundwater contamination present could be impacted by the dewatering. On the north shore the recovery shaft will act like a large diameter water well that is 100 to 200 ft deep. The portal on the south shore will act like a line sink and will also change the groundwater flow. There is also a wellhead protection zone for the Mackinaw City municipal wells very close by. In addition to the exacerbation of contamination, a violation of Part 201/213, surface water will be drawn into the aquifer. This could create a serious health hazard. Ground water is safe to drink because the soil filters and provides retention time in an anaerobic environment that removes things that are present in surface water that make people ill. Surface water is not naturally treated this way and can make people ill. The Michigan Department of Conservation article ​ Reconnaissance of Groundwater Resources of Mackinac County​, mentions the potential for highly mineralized groundwater being pulled into the fresh water aquifer by over pumping. This is exactly what the dewatering will do. The potential for the dewatering to destroy the groundwater quality of an aquifer used as a drinking water supply must be properly evaluated.

I oppose the HDD proposal, as well as the current tunnel proposal. Please consider the above major environmental concerns, as well as the disruption of tribal burial grounds, threat to tourism and more.

Sincerely,
Loren Nosan

I am a forty year summer resident of Beaver Island and have an abiding love for Lake MIchigan. For years, the Enbridge Corporation has been telling the public that a tunnel is the best alternative to their aging pipes lying on the lakebed in the Straits of Mackinac. Now horizontal directional drilling suddenly is a better solution, when a few years back they said it wasn't feasible. Enbridge, with their horrible safety record, is not a reliable partner and should not be trusted as their drilling for Line 3 in Minnesota produced repeated frac-outs. And if either the tunnel or the HDD project goes through, Michigan taxpayers will be left with the ongoing responsibilty for this infrastructure while Enbridge, a Canadian company, reaps the profits. Both the tunnel and HDD are far too risky to allow them to proceed. The pipeline should be shut down altogether in the public interest.

Please see attached comments.

Here in Michigan we are lucky to have the Great lakes surrounding us, we have fresh water source for the WHOLE state and you are going to effect it and make the already tough water situation in Michigan even worse.

Reasons why the Line 5 tunnel should be removed and not replaced:

1. Enbridge is the same company responsible for the second-largest inland oil spill in our country’s history
In 2010, Enbridge’s Line 6B Pipeline ruptured west of Marshall, Michigan spewing oil into the Kalamazoo River and the surrounding area. More than 800,000 gallons of oil contaminated the environment, and it took Enbridge 17 hours to realize the spill had even happened. This event shook the community and caused permanent environmental damage. The spill took more than a decade to clean up, which is still ongoing and the price tag has exceeded $1 billion. The unfortunate truth is, Michigan is home to the second largest inland oil spill in history because of Enbridge Energy. We can’t afford to repeat past mistakes by allowing this company to build another major pipeline project in the heart of our Great Lakes.

2. Approving Enbridge’s tunnel plan would lock Michigan into outdated fossil fuel infrastructure for another 99 years
Given the pressing climate impacts facing Michigan, there’s a clear need to reduce emissions and transition to clean, renewable energy. Continued investment in dangerous oil pipelines will anchor our state to decades of obsolete fossil fuels that exacerbate climate change. The fact is: we can and should be investing in clean energy to create jobs instead of relying on technologies of the past that pose a danger to our Great Lakes.

3. Propane alternatives for Line 5 are readily available
There are alternative sources for the small amount of propane that runs through Line 5 to U.P. customers. The Upper Peninsula Energy Task Force and other experts have identified clear solutions that will ensure the U.P. has the energy it needs for heating with minimal impacts to prices. Line 5 is not the only source of propane for these customers and there are safer alternatives that don’t risk an oil spill in our Great Lakes.

4. Enbridge has a poor track record for safety and transparency and shouldn’t be trusted
Time and time again, Enbridge has shown a total disregard for the safety of our Great Lakes — from the 2018 anchor strikes, to exposed bare metal weakening the pipeline’s integrity, to the rupture of Line 6B in 2010 that spilled more than a million gallons of oil, they have proved their priorities lie in profit and not in protecting our natural resources and people. Enbridge has failed to demonstrate proper care for the current Line 5 pipeline and it cannot be trusted with our most precious natural resource. We have no reason to believe this tunnel project would be any different.

Thank you.

I oppose any tunnel being placed in the Straits of Mackinaw or in any Great Lake. I also oppose doing any water tunneling business with Enbridge. They have shown in prior instances that they will only clean up what they feel is reasonable, not taking into consideration the remnants that oil spills leave for generations. To have them sign over the Tunnel to the State of Michigan indicates that they are not willing to be responsible for any spills that may happen and that the tax payers in the State of Michigan would be liable for all monetary and personal liability. NOT and option for the residents. We don’t even get to vote on accepting or declining this tunnel and all of its liability. Enbridge has shown itself to be a company that is about profits not people.