What is the Enbridge pipeline?
Enbridge Energy Partners’ Lakehead pipeline system distributes oil throughout the Great Lakes states and Canada. The pipeline that crosses through the Kalamazoo River system is Line 6B, a 30-inch, 190,000 barrels per day line transporting light synthetics, heavy and medium crude oil from Griffith, Ind., to Sarnia, Ontario. The U.S. Department of Transportation and the White House both reportedly warned Enbridge about “major failures” in the maintenance of the pipeline. On July 28, in response to the Kalamazoo River spill, PHMSA ordered Enbridge to cease use of the 6b line until corrective measures could be taken, citing the line as “hazardous to life, property and the environment.” Regulators have accepted a plan from Enbridge for remediation of the site and eventual restart of the pipeline. The company has conducted an integrity test of a 13-mile section of the repaired line, filling the portion with water at high pressure to check for leaks, and has excavated and inspected an additio
