Two New Films Address Threat of Line 5 to the Great Lakes
Up to 23 million gallons of oil and natural gas liquids pump through the Straits of Mackinac each day and the only thing separating the oil from the world’s greatest freshwater resource is a vintage, 65-year-old pipeline called Line 5. So when the National Wildlife Federation learned that this pipeline was owned and operated the same company responsible for the million-gallon Kalamazoo River oil pipeline rupture in 2010, attention turned to the condition of Line 5 and its threat to the Great Lakes. Two new documentaries released in the past month explore the pipeline, its history, its present condition, and its threat to the water, wildlife, and economy of the Great Lakes.
Beneath the Surface (Detroit Public TV)
Detroit Public TV aired Beneath the Surface on April 25, after two advanced screenings in at the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor and Atwater Brewery in Detroit. Produced by Great Lakes Now’s Mary Ellen Geist — Detroit Public TV’s bureau chief — this documentary delves into how the threat of Line 5 came to light after the Kalamazoo River oil spill through the research of Beth Wallace, Great Lakes partnerships managers for the National Wildlife Federation.
Beneath the Surface features interviews with Wallace, with Enbridge spokesman Ryan Duffy, the U.S. Coast Guard, retired Dow chemical transportation engineer Ed Timm, University of Michigan professor Dr. David Schwab, Jennifer McKay of the Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council, Liz Kirkwood of For Love of Water (F.L.O.W.), and Great Lakes Business Network business owners Chris Shepler of Shepler’s Mackinac Island Ferry and Larry Bell of Bell’s Brewery.
Following the broadcast of Beneath the Surface, a special episode of MiWeek aired featuring an update on recent damage to Line 5 from an anchor strike in early April and a discussion with Mike Shriberg, executive director the National Wildlife Federation’s Great Lakes Regional Center and a member of Michigan’s Pipeline Safety Advisory Board, and Nick Schroek, professor of transnational energy and environment law at the Wayne State University Law School.
Line 5 Part One: The Threat
Barton Bund, an independent filmmaker in Ann Arbor, produced Line 5 Part One: The Threat and released it on April 10, 2018. The first in a multi-part documentary series, this film focuses on the specific threat that Line 5 poses to the Great Lakes through interviews with experts, advocates and Enbridge itself.
National Wildlife Federation’s Beth Wallace, Mike Shriberg, and past board president Bruce Wallace are featured, as well as Dr. Dave Schwab of the University of Michigan, Ed Timm, Jennifer McKay, Enbridge’s Ryan Duffy, Jennifer McKay of the Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council, community advocate Roger Gauthier, and more.
Each of these films highlight the growing concern about the threat of Line 5 due to its deteriorating condition, the track record of the company operating it, and its sensitive location in the heart of the Great Lakes.
