LANSING — Despite Enbridge’s long history of negligence in Michigan, the House passed a bill today allowing the pipeline company to continue operating Line 5 while a tunnel is built in the Straits of Mackinac. The legislation was a result of a closed-door deal struck by Gov. Rick Snyder and other Republican leadership, attempting to tie the hands of the incoming governor and to force the state into a long-term deal with Enbridge. The tunnel deal would potentially cost millions of taxpayer dollars without any guarantee that new jobs will pay fair wages to local workers. In response, state Rep. Yousef Rabhi (D-Ann Arbor) issued the following statement:
“The people of the Great Lakes State elected us as stewards of our state’s natural resources, responsible for preserving the safety and quality of our water for generations to come. This legislation does nothing to mitigate the significant risks Line 5 poses to our environment and economy, and in their attempt to rush through the plan, Republicans failed to guarantee that the new jobs created will pay the strong wages Michiganders deserve. We cannot allow Enbridge to continue gambling with our state’s health and well-being as they rake in profits and neglect the potentially devastating costs of a spill.”