SooLeader received the following letter about the future of Line 5.
Move Line 5. Despite Enbridge’s promises of jobs, they hired out-of-state contractors to build the tunnel. Why take these outstanding risks for no benefit to us Yoopers? As Americans devoted to limited government, fiscal responsibility, and protecting our nation's critical resources and infrastructure, we face a pivotal decision regarding the future of Line 5 - a 645-mile pipeline owned by the Canadian company Enbridge.
This aging pipeline, now nearly 70 years old, currently runs along the lakebed of the Straits of Mackinac, where Lakes Michigan and Huron meet. Each day it transports up to 540,000 barrels of oil and natural gas liquids, posing an unacceptable risk to the invaluable Great Lakes watershed.
The Great Lakes represent one of the largest surface freshwater systems on Earth, making up an astounding 21 per cent of the world's fresh surface water. Over 40 million Americans and Canadians rely on the Great Lakes for their drinking water. This natural wonder also supports a $16-billion tourism economy and facilitates $3.8 billion in wages through shipping, fishing and recreational industries annually. An oil spill in this precious ecosystem would be an unprecedented environmental and economic disaster. Note the EUP tourism is largely based on the environment as people visit to boat, fish, and visit our pristine water ways.
I am not calling for the termination of this pipeline that provides energy transportation. Rather, I advocate for the rerouting of Line 5 through the northern interior of Pennsylvania - entirely outside of the Great Lakes basin. While this rerouting would require an upfront investment, it permanently removes the threat of a catastrophic oil spill in the Great Lakes by relocating the pipeline away from our precious freshwater resources.
My friends, this is not simply an environmental issue, but one that upholds our core conservative principles of fiscal prudence, property rights, and safeguarding America's critical infrastructure and natural treasures for future generations. Can we really afford the risk and potential economic devastation of an oil spill that could render the Great Lakes unusable for decades? The costs of attempting to clean up such a spill and rebuild countless homes, businesses, and local economies would be incalculable.
I am proposing a solution that is in lockstep with conservative values. Rerouting this aging pipeline proactively protects private property values, preserves the Great Lakes as an engine of economic prosperity, and upholds our conservationist heritage championed by Republican President Theodore Roosevelt. Utilizing modern pipeline construction technology, we can accomplish this rerouting safely with minimal environmental impact.
I call on all my conservative colleagues - Republicans, Libertarians, Reformers, Constitutionalists, and Natural Law advocates - to join me in supporting this common sense proposal to reroute Line 5 outside of the Great Lakes basin. Let us unite to protect this national treasure that drives our region's economy and quality of life. In doing so, we uphold our shared principles of responsible governance, economic security, and environmental stewardship.
Max Vokits
Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.
