Enbridge Pipeline Tunnel at Mackinaw, WI
Rerouting the Pipeline and Securing the Sacred Waters
Enbridge is currently embroiled in two separate controversies surrounding a single oil pipeline in Wisconsin.
First, the Tribe whose land Enbridge is using (in the Bad River Reservation) to route their pipeline wants to not have the pipeline there anymore. Enbridge has responded with a proposal to avoid their territory by running the pipeline around their reservation, at approximately 3x the length of the current operation for the region.
Second, the concrete pipe that the pipeline is routed through at the Mackinaw Strait is at risk of catastrophic failure, and the proposed solution is to put another encasement layer of concrete around it. Citizens of Mackinaw are nonplussed.
While this territory is on the edge of manageable interest, Mackinaw can serve a future rail connection eventually between the Canadian North and the Green Bay Connector. In addition, as the opportunities for cooperation within the Canadian mining sector may be ripe, a connection between Canada's Sudbury region and the United States may offer the opportunity for mineral processing and transport in the short term, eventually providing a baseline for that particular stretch of the proposed Canadian Transcontinental.
In theory, the bulk of the pipeline can be rebuilt within the secure confines of the main tunnel/cut-and-cover route, and a future-proofed tunnel at the Mackinaw Strait can assuage everyone's concerns. The old pipeline can then be recycled or reused for other projects, like that of mining sluice operations.
KeystoneXL Pipeline
Custom Fit Along a Dedicated Corridor
Despite the pipeline's permit being canceled, the pipeline itself is reportedly widely supported by the American public.
The aim of this project is to address some of the concerns and complaints regarding gas pipelines, namely by interring the pipeline within the confines of an underground tunnel with maintenance access and a certain degree of environmental controls and monitoring.
The pipeline's routing as currently theorized would overlap substantially with two proposed rail routes in the midwest around Cheyenne, with a North-South route between Billings, WY and Cheyenne, WY, and and mostly East-West route between Cheyenne, WY and Omaha, NE.
By overlapping the projects, it provides safety features and helps to democratize costs, and reframes the pipeline as part of a national grid.
Summit CO2 Ethanol Capture Pipeline
Linking Ethanol Manufacturers and Pumping Gas Underground
Rather than pumping gas underground, there are other potential uses, assuming the feedstock is clean enough to be used. There are a wide range of products derived from CO2, and some are synergistic with the kinds of facilities being built for a rail line.
In any event, the rail line infrastructure design is meant to accommodate pipelines like that of CO2, and so if the planned outline overlaps with the planned rail lines, there is a chance that it would be advantageous for both parties to work together on the problem.
As there is a tentative alignment proposal for I-80 (East-West) through the heart of the Summit project zone, an alteration to coincide would potentially improve both the economics and the regulatory hurdles (for which Summit are getting hammered over environmental concerns).
Likewise, the North-South alignment through Omaha to Sioux Falls, and on to Fargo, would accommodate a significant stretch of the project plan with slight alterations to the connection design.
