Tense testimony given on Line 5

TRAVERSE CITY — It was a day of revelations as U.S. Sen. Gary Peters conducted a field hearing about safety measures and emergency response plans to a possible oil spill from Enbridge's Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac.

Federal officials and energy transportation industry representatives gathered Monday at Northwestern Michigan College in Traverse City to answer Peters' questions, particularly about an April 1 anchor strike on the pipeline and officials' reaction to the incident. The senator said the hearing showed there are gaps in industry transparency and the ability for federal authorities to rapidly respond to potential oil spills in the straits.

Peters also underscored a "significant deficiency of trust" in Enbridge's willingness to do what's best for the environment.

"We know it's a ticking time bomb. We have to find an alternative," Peters said.

Peters questioned how quickly Enbridge, the U.S. Coast Guard and the federal Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration responded to the anchor strike, particularly with visual inspections from both remotely operated underwater vehicles and divers. He asked whether enough oil spill response equipment and responders can be deployed to the straits within 24 hours of any known incident.

Howard "Skip" Elliott, administrator of PHMSA, said "sooner is better in this case," and his agency can look into improving the availability of oil spill response gear where Line 5 crosses the bottomlands of the Great Lakes at the straits. He also discussed how the agency depends on pipeline operators such as Enbridge to share in-line pressure test results to help decide whether lines should be temporarily shut down in emergencies.

Peters suggested some areas with pipelines are more environmentally sensitive than others — particularly the Straits of Mackinac — and should require special safety circumstances and emergency preparedness.

"You will not find a more sensitive area anywhere in the United States," he said.

When further questioned by the senator, Elliott conceded the agency has never used its authority to order the decommission of a pipeline, an answer that prompted a man to shout "time to start" from within the standing-room only audience of more than 400.

That outburst paled in comparison, however, to widespread and intermittent hissing from the crowd during the testimony of David Bryson, senior vice president of operations for Enridge's liquid pipelines. He described Line 5 as critical infrastructure for energy markets in both Michigan and Canada and said the company recently added $7 million in additional supplies to the straits area to bolster emergency response capabilities.

Peters questioned why he had to make repeated phone calls to federal authorities to get the pipeline shut down in the days immediately after the anchor strike when a winter storm bared down on the region. The senator said Enbridge officials seemed to "push back" on the state-negotiated protocol he argued should have automatically prompted a situational shut down.

Bryson said the company worked within the unified incident command structure headed by the Coast Guard and pipeline pressure testing showed the line was safe.

"We had confidence the system integrity was intact," he said.

Peters questioned whether the company would release to the public video footage of visual inspections done on Line 5 after the anchor strike, that showed the incident caused not just denting, but gouging on the dual pipelines. Bryson said Enbridge would release that footage, his only response that garnered a positive reaction from the audience.

A crowd favorite during the hearing was Michael Shriberg, executive director for the National Wildlife Federation's Great Lakes Regional Center. He argued it is a myth that Line 5 is critical infrastructure as his organization's research showed it could be replaced by trucking and rail service with minimal impacts on customers both in the United States and Canada. Shriberg also said considering the pipeline's environmental risks, the decision to decommission the line is "an easy calculation."

"The bottom line is we know there are alternatives," he said.

Others to testify and answer Peters' questions Monday included Coast Guard Rear Admiral Joanna Nunan; Scott Lundgren, emergency response division chief for the Office of Response and Restoration for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; David Murk, manager of pipelines for midstream and industry operations for the American Petroleum Institute; Chris Hennessy, business development representative for the Michigan Laborers-Employers Cooperation and Education Trust; and, Larry Bell, found and owner of Bells Brewery.

Desmond Berry, Natural Resources Department manager for the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, attended and live-streamed the field hearing on social media. He said he is disappointed no tribal authorities were approved to testify during the hearing.

Peters is a member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee and is the ranking Democrat on its Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety and Security. More information, including video from the field hearing in Traverse City, can be found at bit.ly/2MJQB08 online.