LANSING – If
anything about the disputed Pipeline 5 that carries oil and natural gas under
the Mackinac Straits suggested it should be replaced, Enbridge Energy would
look at the process, executives with the company told reporters on Monday.
The
executives, who spoke to reporters after meeting with leaders of the state’s
pipeline task force, said the 62-year-old pipeline remains in excellent
condition and is regularly inspected and the company is taking additional steps
to respond quickly should the chance of any failure occur.
Cynthia
Hansen, senior vice president for operations for the Canadian firm, said the
company is eager to participate in an analysis of potential replacements for
the pipeline.
The task
force report, issued last month, called for an examination of what could
replace the pipeline under the straits. Given its age, task force members said,
it would be reasonable to expect it would have to be replaced.
At this
time, the company does not have any plans to replace the pipeline, though
environmental groups have argued it should be closed because of the risk it
poses to the Great Lakes if something happened and oil products were leaked.
Hansen said
at various points the company has looked at and evaluated different
alternatives to providing the petroleum products through other means or through
a re-located pipeline.
It is very
expensive to build a new pipeline, she said.
The company
has ensuring the safety of the pipeline, the Great Lakes and people as a
primary priority, the executives said.
Bradley
Shamla, vice president for U.S. operations for Enbridge, said if there was
anything “suggesting replacement” for the pipeline was needed,
“we would be going down that route.”
The pipeline
consists of two seamless pipes, about 20-inches in diameter, running along the
floor of the straits. The pipeline’s walls are nearly one-inch thick steel and
are coated.
The task
force report raised concerns about the possible effects Zebra mussels and other
invasive species could have on the pipeline since they have attached themselves
to it. Ms. Hansen said the company wanted to look more closely at the mussels,
but so far tests do not indicate the mussel secretions affect the coating on
the pipeline and they do not appear to provide a weight issue on the pipeline.
Pipeline’s
are generally designed and built with an economic lifespan of 40 years to 50
years, Hansen said, but most of their pipeline assets last longer than that.
Pipelines
built in the same manner as the straits pipeline tend to last the longest of
any pipeline, she said.
Out of the
50,000 miles of pipeline the company oversees, it has several pipelines built
like the straits pipeline, the executives said, and have encountered no
problems with them.
The
executives said they believed they had also resolved a question on documentation
the task force report raised. The report indicated some materials on
inspections had not been made available, and company officials felt they had.
Shamla and Hansen
said in the end there appeared to be a misunderstanding on format. Materials
had been provided to the task force, but some were in formats that were
unreadable. That data would now be provided in usable formats. The executives
also said the firm would open up more resources for the public to review as
well.
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