TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — A Canadian company that owns twin underwater oil pipelines in the area where Lakes Huron and Michigan meet said it’s spending $7 million over the next two years on equipment that could be deployed there quickly in the event of a spill.

Enbridge Energy said the nearly 5-mile-long pipelines that cross the Straits of Mackinac between Michigan’s two peninsulas have never leaked.

But senior emergency manager Stephen Lloyd says that just in case, the company is ordering additional containment and skimming devices that could suck up oil in open water before it reaches sensitive shorelines.

Environmental groups say the 63-year-old pipes pose too great a risk and should be shut down. They carry nearly 23 million gallons daily to Canadian refineries.