UP Lawmakers Express Disappointment Over Line 5 Lawsuit

Upper Peninsula lawmakers are not mincing words when it comes to expressing their disapproval of a pair of court filings last week meant to shut down the Enbridge Line 5.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed the documents in Ingham County Circuit Court calling for the dismissal of a lawsuit by Enbridge demanding an agreement they made with former Governor Rick Snyder to build a tunnel underneath the Straits of Mackinac be honored by the current administration and another to order the company to end operations of the pipelines “as soon as possible.”

Line 5 originates in Superior, WI and travels over 600 miles though Michigan before terminating in Sarnia, Ontario. Enbridge says the line transports light crude and light synthetic crude oil, along with natural gas liquids that are refined into propane.  The line does not carry heavy crude oil.

About 30 percent of the oil is used in Michigan for gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and other products, according to Michiganoilandgas.org.

State Representative Greg Markkanen said Nessel should spend a winter in the U.P. before deciding residents don’t need the propane from the pipeline.  Markkanen said, “The Line 5 provides 65 percent of the propane up here in the Upper Peninsula and we went through this in the winter of 2014 and we need that propane. We need that ability to heat our homes and to shut down Line 5 is just crazy.”

State Senator Ed McBroom said he wasn’t surprised by the Attorney General’s actions, but he was disappointed.  “She’s certainly following through with what she promised during her campaign. It’s also very unfortunate, particularly because now she has better information, has had time to aggregate that information, and yet has not really changed course,” said McBroom.

McBroom said shutting down the pipelines would have a negative impact on the state’s economy.  “The facts are there are not viable alternatives for the energy that the U.P. needs,” he said.  “The alternatives would be much more costly and much more dangerous, whether it’s trucks, rail, barges, and she’s also failing to consider the huge impact to downstate Michigan and even to the Midwest–jet fuel, gasoline, other fossil fuel products, oil products that are made and manufactured. Tens of thousands of people working in Michigan depend on Line 5.”

The Republican Senator does not see how these lawsuits could benefit Michigan.  “All these lawsuits will do, in my opinion, is delay the eventual inevitability which is that Line 5 can either continue to exist as it is on the bottom of the lake, which is not desirable, or be buried 100 feet below the bottom of the lake, which is the compromised that Enbridge had already agreed to and was going to pay for entirely,” McBroom said.

US Congressman Jack Bergman said he is trying to convince Michigan’s leaders of the value of Line 5 and the importance of allowing the tunnel to be built.  “I talked to Governor Whitmer on this,” Bergman said.  “She is very focused on trying to do the right thing. She created her energy task force. I suggested, when she talked about it, I looked at the list and asked why don’t you add someone from the tunneling industry? I look at who you put on here, you don’t have any expertise, so if somebody brings up the subject of tunneling, you’ll have nobody in the room to turn to. She goes, ‘Oh! Great idea!”

As far as the actions of Nessel, Bergman says this is simply a political ploy by the AG.  “This is reckless, political partisanship that is not good for any state, but it’s not good for Michigan because she makes the people here in the U.P. feel as though we are just pawns in her chess game and that is morally wrong,” said Bergman.

In a statement released Friday, State Representative Sara Cambensy of Marquette said, “No one wants an oil spill in the Great Lakes. No one. With that said, I’m disappointed to see the lawsuit filed by Attorney General Nessel. Understanding that our Michigan oil and gas pipeline system spans state and international borders, there is no doubt in my mind that a premature shutdown would cause a significant economic disruption. Furthermore, I’m concerned how international trade laws, especially those that protect against major energy disruptions and assure international and state energy security, impact this lawsuit.”

Cambensy added, “While I believe that this litigation is the wrong strategy for Michigan, I remain hopeful that all parties involved can find a better solution, based on solid data and expertise from engineering, building trades and industry specialists, which protects the waters we love and rely on without jeopardizing our state’s energy or economic sectors.”

Opponents of Line 5 say Enbridge has a less than satisfactory track record when it comes to safety and that the pipelines pose a significant threat to the Great Lakes.