Wisconsin pipeline dwarfs Keystone and affects every waterway in the state
Didn't see that coming
Written by Louis Weisberg, Staff writer
Thursday, 12 February 2015 12:07
A 42-inch pipeline buried beneath every major waterway in Wisconsin would dwarf the volume of gritty, chemical-laced sludge carried by Keystone XL when it amps up operation next year. Only a Dane County zoning committee stands in the way — temporarily — of oil giant Enbridge’s intention for Line 61 to convey more tar sands crude than any pipeline in the nation.
A network of pipes and pumping stations built at various times and gradually joined together, the convoluted line began in 2006 and currently pumps an astonishing 560,000 barrels through Wisconsin daily. After its 12 pumping stations are either constructed or upgraded with additional horsepower, the line would convey up to 1.2 million barrels daily — one-third more than the Keystone XL’s 800,000 barrels.
Enbridge, North America’s largest oil and gas pipeline operator, has the Western Hemisphere’s worst record for spills. The National Transportation Safety Board has recorded 800 incidents since 1999 — and that’s not including oil that seeps into the environment from weak or corroded sections of pipe, which is ignored by federal regulators.
According to the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters, Enbridge is guilty of more than 100 environmental violations in 14 Wisconsin counties. Most recently, in July 2012, a farm field in Grand Marsh was covered by at least 1,200 barrels of oil after an Enbridge pipeline ruptured. Enbridge had to purchase a nearby home that a local resident described as being “covered in oil,” according to the Sierra Club. The rupture involved conventional crude oil rather than tar sands crude.
http://www.wisconsingazette.com/wisconsin/xxlbreakwisconsin-pipeline-dwarfs-keystone-and-affects-every-waterway-in-the-state.html
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