Banning heavy tar sands oil from ever flowing through the aging twin Straits of Mackinac pipelines is one of about a dozen recommendations included in a state task force report on the status and future of Michigan pipelines.
The report, released jointly by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and the Attorney General’s office after a yearlong inquiry, mandates full insurance coverage for the 62-year-old Straits pipelines, owned by Enbridge Energy Inc.
The report also calls for independent assessments of the risk to the Great Lakes posed by the pipeline, and alternatives to its future operation. The pipeline’s days “are numbered,” said Bill Schuette, state attorney general.
The task force has reviewed documents and heard testimony from pipeline owner Enbridge Energy Inc., state university professors, federal regulators, business groups, environmental groups and other concerned citizens.
