(John Ransom, Headline USA) A new study shows that the latest attempt by Democrats to shut down a pipeline in the Great Lakes will cost Americans $23.7 billion.
The cost will be concentrated in the Midwestern region and will come in the form of higher prices for gas and diesel said Weinstein, Clower and Associates, for the Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) report.
Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer (D) ordered the pipeline shut down because, although the pipeline has a 70-year operational history of no leaks, she said that a rupture could create an environmental disaster.
“Most importantly, Enbridge [pipeline] has imposed on the people of Michigan an unacceptable risk of a catastrophic oil spill in the Great Lakes that could devastate our economy and way of life,” said Whitmer in her statement on her unilateral decision to shut down the pipeline that affects at least five different states, plus Canada.
Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted (R) called Whitmer’s decision “unreasonable and irresponsible,” according to Fox News, especially in the light of the war in Ukraine which has cramped oil and gas supplies worldwide.
The CEA report said that while it’s widely assumed that oil and gas can be transported by other methods, such as rail car, the logistical realities make that a non-starter for transporting oil and gas to the refineries affected if Line 5 shuts down.
The Congressional Research Service “concludes that rail transportation is two to three times the cost of moving the same volume of petroleum materials by pipeline” said the CEA report and suggests that the regulatory burdens of opening a new refinery mean that refineries already operate near capacity.
Canada, for its part, said that it fully supports the operation of the Line 5 pipeline, which transports Canadian oil and gas, and looked to the United States to help break the roadblock between Michigan’s Whitmer and Canada to keep the pipeline open under a formal treaty obligation.
“Line 5 is a top priority for Canada,” Lama Khodr, a spokesperson for Canada’s foreign ministry told Reuters. “Canada’s objective remains to work with the U.S. in these formal treaty negotiations to seek a solution where Line 5 remains open and operating safely.”
But on this, just like a lot of things, president Joe Biden has been a lot of hot gas, and not the kind that will reduce your energy bill.
