Michigan governor bans anchor drops in Straits of Mackinac - Action News
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Michigan governor bans anchor drops in Straits of Mackinac

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is requiring large vessel operators to verify they're not dragging their anchors on the bottomlands when passing through the Straits of Mackinac.

Underwater video taken last year shows what appears to be damage to the pipeline

In this 2017 file photo, fresh nuts, bolts and fittings are ready to be added to the east leg of the pipeline near St. Ignace, Mich., as Canadian oil transport company Enbridge prepares to test the east and west sides of the Line 5 pipeline under the Straits of Mackinac. (Dale G Young/The Detroit News via AP)

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is requiring large vessel operators to verify they're not dragging their anchors on the bottomlands when passing through the Straits of Mackinac.

Whitmer instructed the state Department of Natural Resources on Wednesday to file an emergency rule imposing the requirement for ships in the waterway linking Lakes Huron and Michigan.

It's similar to an order that former Gov. Rick Snyder issued last year after a tugboat anchor ruptured two electric cables and dented twin oil pipelines stretched across the lake bed.

Whitmer's move came as U.S. Sen. Gary Peters' office released underwater video taken last year showing what appears to be damage to Enbridge's Line 5 oil pipes from the anchor strike.

Whitmer has delayed action on a deal reached by Snyder and Enbridge last fall to replace the Line 5 pipes with another that would run through a tunnel beneath the lake bottomlands.

Watch the underwater video released which shows damage to the Line 5 oil pipes