Pipeline incidents are nearly an everyday occurrence. Yes, believe it or not, data reveals that there have been almost 8,000 pipeline incidents since 1986 which results in nearly 300 per year on average. That?s almost one every day with an average of 200 barrels spilled every single day since 1986. This is crazy. Does anyone truly know the negative effects this has had on our environment? Do we really get the true details about these spills and their clean up efforts? According to data, the cleanup of pipeline spills leaves tens of thousands of barrels of oil in the water and on the land because the clean up efforts are only partially successful. Texas wins the race with the most spills and, or course, they just added another one to their record with the Blue Ridge incident that spewed 600,000 gallons of oil.   

The Dakota Access Pipeline has resumed construction and of course the fear is that it will someday contaminate the Missouri River if a spill occurs. It seems almost inevitable, sorry to say. If you look at the record of pipeline incidents over the years, the Enbridge company has quite a long rap sheet.  

A grave concern is the fear of a major spill due to old and corroded pipelines that were built in the 1950?s in the Great Lakes in an area called the Straits of Mackinac. It is one of the most ecologically sensitive areas in the world. Crazy that pipelines were even allowed here where 20 percent of the planet?s fresh surface water is contained. This could be a true disaster if a major spill occurs. But don?t worry: Enbridge says there is nothing to be concerned about.

This is the same company who holds the record for the largest inland oil spill that occurred in July of 2010 when a pipeline operated by Enbridge burst and flowed into a tributary of the Kalamazoo River. Estimates are that between 800,000 and one million gallons leaked into the river.

There are small incidents as well as major spills such as the Talmadge Creek/Kalamazoo River spill. Sometimes only one farmer is affected when his property suffers the consequences of a leak or spill. Sometimes it affects a lot of people when rivers are closed for years for clean up projects. So what will happen when the pipeline bursts in the Great Lakes? Let?s hope we never have to find out. This Earth can only do so much to clean up after its humans.