ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The Republican-led Michigan legislature today is choosing to ignore alarming and urgent safety concerns with Enbridge Energy’s Line 5 oil pipeline and instead is intending to vote on a resolution to appease the company responsible for one of the worst inland oil spills in U.S. history in Kalamazoo, Mich. 
 
“The resolution is a diversion," said Beth Wallace, freshwater campaigns manage for the National Wildlife Federation. "The real story is that Enbridge Energy was just fined $6.7 million by the EPA for safety lapses similar to those that caused the 1-million-gallon oil gusher that trashed 38 miles of the Kalamazoo River — and now their aging oil pipeline cutting through the Great Lakes has even more damage that underscores ongoing questions about its structural integrity. The real story is that the Line 5 oil pipeline is a catastrophe waiting to happen and that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has the authority and the duty to shut down the risky Line 5 oil pipeline now. The National Wildlife Federation fully supports Gov. Whitmer to use her authority to shut down the risky oil pipeline to protect our Great Lakes, our drinking water, our health, our jobs, and our quality of life. We urge her to act now so that we can prevent the unthinkable — an oil spill in the Great Lakes.”