EDITOR:

Fasten your seatbelts readers. Here comes a real doozy. The Analysis of The Enbridge Financial Assurances Offered to the State of Michigan, “On Matters Related To The Operation of The Enbridge Line 5 Pipeline At the Straits of Mackinac”, was performed by American Risk Management Resources Network, LLC., a Wisconsin firm. It was prepared for the State of Michigan, the Michigan Department of Attorney General, Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy and Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Their executive summary states: To avoid unfunded response costs and property and personal injury damages arising from a rupture of Enbridge Line 5 at the Straits of Mackinac (Straits), the State of Michigan, the Michigan Department of Attorney General, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (the State) has commissioned this risk financing analysis to evaluate the ability of Enbridge companies to pay for the costs and damages that a rupture of Line 5 may cause. One of the report’s findings is: Estimates on the potential costs arising from a release of petroleum products from Line 5 at the Straits range from an Enbridge supplied estimate of $300 million, to a $1.878 billion estimate from the Independent Risk Analysis for the Straits Pipeline analysis, to a $45 billion estimate from a Michigan State University study on the projected costs. Just $300 million according to Enbridge. LOL. They must be using the old slide rule that sticks to arrive at this amount. But, with their lack of credibility, this is no surprise. Enbridge’s enhanced equipment at the Straits: 10,000 feet of Sea Sentry Boom, a heavy duty open water containment boom; 1,000 feet of Fire Boom, necessary to ignite the oil; Lamor Ice Skimmers, which is 30 foot rig that separates oil from ice after the ice is busted up, and Nofi Current Busters that are surface water collectors. Wow, isn’t that great. I wonder how long a ship breaking ice with a 30-foot separator to sweep a minimum 20 square mile area at the Straits with 4 feet of ice would take? Just one of hundreds of unknowns. Apparently Chris Johnston, chief financial officer of Enbridge Energy Partners, L.P, told the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission in 2017 that the Enbridge parent company isn’t obligated to honor assurances from its U.S. subsidiaries. The testimony came in a case concerning a different Enbridge pipeline.

Enbridge, Inc. is a profitable company, earning approximately $2.475 billion in profits and generating $7.877 billion in cash in 2018! Build a new pipeline across Canada and leave the Great Lakes alone. This is a disaster waiting to happen. Get it yet?

Gerry Niedermaier

Gladstone