What if Enbridge is wrong about its 63-year-old pipeline?

Notice the red spot on this map – the reddest of the red, at the tip of the mitt. That’s ground zero for a potential oil pipe rupture under the Straits of Mackinac. It happens to include the beach directly in front of my cottage, not to mention Mackinac Island and some other spectacular specimens of Pure Michigan.

Enbridge Energy Inc. That’s a name that should ring a bell for Michiganders. It was an Enbridge pipeline that ruptured on July 25, 2010, spewing a million gallons of crude oil into the Kalamazoo River. It was the largest inland oil spill in U.S. history, and an environmental disaster.

Enbridge, a Canadian company, operates two 63-year-old pipelines, known collectively as Line 5, beneath the Straits. Every day, nearly 23 million gallons of oil flow through the pipes. Most of it comes from Canada. It takes a shortcut through Michigan before jogging back into Canada near Port Huron. The Enbridge folks maintain that the pipes are safe and, that, theoretically, they could last indefinitely.

And if they’re wrong …?

Two weeks ago the University of Michigan’s Water Center released a computer simulation of what might happen if one of the pipes ruptured. The bottom line: A single spill from one of the pipes could turn 152 miles of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron coastline into a hot mess.

That’s why a growing number of northern Michigan business owners, as well as leaders of local governments, tribes and environmental organizations are calling for state officials to shut down the lines. Their motto: “Oil and Water Don’t Mix.”

Although the pipes lying beneath the Straits were meant to last only 50 years, the Enbridge people say that, with proper maintenance, they could serve their purpose much longer than that. But Enbridge’s record does not inspire confidence. The company has been responsible for more than 800 spills - 6.8 million gallons’ worth - between 1999 and 2010.

From now on, as I drive across the Mackinac Bridge, over the spectacular meeting place of Lake Huron and Lake Michigan, it will be hard not to think about the potential disaster lurking beneath the sparkling water.

Read John Schneider's daily blog at www.johnschneiderblog.com.