The state of Michigan is suing a Great Lakes tugboat owner for allegedly damaging pipelines sitting on the bottom of Lake Huron.
Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette said he will bring a civil action against Vanenkevort Tug and Barge for dragging an anchor across state bottomlands and submerged electric and petroleum pipelines.
Schuette said the incident caused the release of hazardous mineral oil into the Straits of Mackinac -- a "no-anchor" zone -- and potentially harmed aquatic life and the lakebed.
"Evidence indicates that this vessel's anchor struck and damaged a pair of power cables owned and operated by American Transmission Company, which caused a release of mineral oil into the Straits," Schuette wrote in a letter to Vanenkevort.
The Department of Attorney General determined that the Clyde S. Vanenkevort passed through the Straits of Mackinac shipping channel at the time the ATC cables and Enbridge Line 5 pipelines were damaged on 1 April 2018.
“The vessel ignored markers in the channel and clearly identified hazards on navigational charts that make clear that an anchor should not be deployed in this area of Straits," Schuette said in statement.
VanEnkevort Tug & Barge said it was working with the US Coast Guard in an investigation into the incident but has not taken responsibility for the damage.
"An underwater power cable was reported to be damaged on 1 April and a tug and one of our barges were among several vessels which transited the area," spokesman Darrell Wilson said.
"Due to the ongoing investigation it would be inappropriate for us to comment further at this time," he added.
Schuette is enforcing the water resources protection portion of the Michigan Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act, which forbids the direct or indirect discharge of substances into water that are potentially damaging to, among other things, fish and other aquatic life.
Each discharge is punishable by a civil fine of up to $25,000 per day of violation, as well as damages for harm to natural resources, attorney’s fees and court costs.
Schuette also notified Vanenkevort that damage caused by its ship’s anchor has triggered common law claims, including public nuisance and trespassing on state-owned lands.
