LETTER: Oil and water don't mix, says citizen's group

The following letter regarding today's oil spill came from Sean McBrearty, Oil & Water Don’t Mix coordinator:

We are grateful to the U.S. Coast Guard and other first responders who are on the scene where a reported 5,300 gallons of oil has spilled into the St. Mary’s River and caused the Soo Locks to be shut down, halting vitally important commercial and other shipping traffic.

According to the Coast Guard, under the best of circumstances no more than 40 percent of the oil spilled today will be recovered.  

No oil spill that damages our waters and disrupts our economy should be taken lightly and today’s should serve as a wakeup call for Michiganders – as well as Canadians – that we are all living with a ticking time bomb in the Straits of Mackinac–Enbridge's nearly 70-year-old Line 5 oil pipelines.

Line 5 carries 23 million gallons of oil . A Line 5 failure would be catastrophic, impacting up 700 miles of Great Lakes coastline and resulting in what experts say would be a $45 billion blow to shipping, steel production and jobs.  

As the Coast Guard responds to today’s emergency, we urge Canadians and Michiganders to unite in protecting our shared economy and waters from an oil pipeline failure that would be devastating.