To the Journal editor:

As we who live near the Straits of Mackinac both upper and lower peninsulas face another election, we should be guided by Line 5. It is the most critical issue in the neighborhood.

Any candidate who supports keeping this threat going is not representing us, but is representing a company. It is the single biggest threat to businesses, jobs, and quality of life in our area. This is not doomsday alarmism. It is reality.

This nearly 70-year old pipeline was designed for a 50 -year useful life by its builders. It has leaked over 100 times and spilled over a million gallons. It could and will rupture anytime, anywhere. Those old pipes under the straits will be there another 10 years no matter what and will be almost 80 years old.

For some reason candidates such as Jack Bergman, John Damoose, Melody Wagner, Neil Frisk and others want to keep this time bomb ticking. They are just spokesmen for the Canadian firm Enbridge, which has been fined for pipeline violations 108 times since 2000, for a total of $272 million. In 2018 the company was fined $1.8 million for failure to maintain Line 5. This past year they were fined $3.2 million by Minnesota for a 24 million gallon spill they did not report..

These politicians who support Line 5 don’t tell you its oil goes back to Canada and beyond. Enbridge, in federal court said that shutting down Line 5 would result in a half cent increase in Michigan gasoline. Less than a penny, and that came from Enbridge, under risk of perjury.

I have been a Upper Peninsula propane user for 40 years and I remember 2014 when Enbridge raised the price of local propane to over $5 a gallon. So I have cut my propane use. And we now have many other sources for propane besides Enbridge.

Enbridge has been charged and fined for failure to maintain their pipelines and yet local candidates keep peddling their story. If you have a choice between a candidate who supports this mess, and one who doesn’t, vote for the one who wants the pipeline gone.

That person will help save thousands of jobs and businesses. It’s that important.