Ann Arbor, MICH. — The EPA is fining Canadian oil pipeline operator Enbridge Energy for safety lapses. Enbridge operates the Line 5 pipeline that cuts across the Straits of Mackinac. The concerns voiced by the EPA are similar to the types of defects that Enbridge downplayed in 2010 that ultimately resulted in the 6-foot gash that caused more than 1 million gallons of oil to contaminate more than 38 miles of Michigan’s Kalamazoo River.

“Enbridge continues to treat safety requirements as suggestions and views violations as a cost of doing business,” said Beth Wallace, freshwater campaigns manager for the National Wildlife Federation. “We cannot continue to ignore the fact that this company, time and time again, fails to adhere to legal requirements. There have already been 33 spills from the land-based segments of the risky Line 5 pipeline, and every day that the pipeline continues to operate is another day that we are allowing them to jeopardize our Great Lakes, our drinking water, our economy, and our jobs. It’s time to put an end to this. It’s time for Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to shut down this risky pipeline to protect our drinking water, jobs, and Great Lakes.”