LANSING, MI (MPRN)-- A package of bills that’s passed out of the State House are aimed at increasing protections for the Line 5 Pipeline.
Lawmakers behind the bill say an anchor strike in April that resulted in fluid leaking into the Straits of Mackinac prompted them to take up the legislation.
Republican Representative Tristan Cole is one of the bill sponsors. He says the measure would create clear signage for vessels passing through the Straits identifying the waterway as a no-anchor zone.
“What we want to ensure is that captains of vessels that are traveling through the straits, and it’s a heavily traveled corridor, are doing a double, triple, quadruple check to ensure they are not dragging an anchor or inadvertently dropping an anchor inside that no anchor zone,” he says.
The bills establish a $10,000 fine for the first violation and $15,000 for the second.
The bills have not yet been taken up by the Senate.