Analyst: 1 in 60 Chance of Straits Pipeline Spill by 2053

HOLT, Mich. (AP) – Analysts say there’s a small chance but serious risk of an oil spill from a nearly 65-year-old dual pipeline underneath the Straits of Mackinac in northern Michigan.

Engineer James Mihell of Dynamic Risk Assessment Inc. says there’s a 1 in 60 probability that the section of Enbridge Energy Inc.’s Line 5 pipeline running through waters that connect lakes Huron and Michigan will fail between now and 2053.

Environmental activists have accused Dynamic Risk of underestimating the potential of a spill. Mihell disputed suggests the firm was low-balling or sugar-coating the risk.

Analysts didn’t recommend a specific course of action by the state, but described several alternatives to the pipeline section, including construction of a new trench or tunnel crossing at the same location.