Enbridge Sues to Keep Line 5 Flowing

Enbridge has filed a federal lawsuit to try to stop the State of Michigan from shutting down the controversial Line 5 pipeline.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer recently ordered that the pipeline delivery be ended by early May. She said Enbridge had violated the terms of the easement the state provided in the early 1950s to allow the pipeline to cross the floor of the Straits of Mackinac.

Attorney General Dana Nessel also filed a lawsuit to have the easement permanently revoked. 

Enbridge says Whitmer’s order is illegal, because the federal government has oversight of the safe operation of the pipeline, not the state. The company maintains federal regulators reviewed the dual conduits several months ago, and pronounced them fit for service. 

Enbridge has proposed relocating the pipeline into a half-billion dollar tunnel that it would drill under the Straits. The Whitmer administration has opposed that plan. 

Line 5 provides nearly two-thirds of the propane used for heat in the Upper Peninsula. It also carries raw petroleum product to Sarnia, Ontario, for refinement into gasoline and aviation fuel.