Gov. Whitmer says NO, Enbridge says we’re doing it anyway!
Written by Jesse Baroka on May 12, 2021
LANSING, MI – Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer threatened Tuesday to go after Enbridge’s profits from a Great Lakes oil pipeline if the company defies her order to shut it down. The Democratic governor issued the warning in a letter to the Canadian energy transport company on the eve of a state-imposed deadline to halt operation of Line 5, which moves oil through northern Wisconsin, Across the Gogebic Range and Upper Michigan to refineries in Ontario. Enbridge repeated its intention to defy Whitmer’s demand. A nearly 4-mile-long section of Line 5 divides into two pipes that cross the bottom of the Straits of Mackinac. Whitmer, backed by environmentalists and native tribes, says the segment is vulnerable to a catastrophic spill in the cold, swirling channel. She revoked an easement last November that Michigan had granted in 1953 for the pipes to occupy the lake bottom and ordered them closed by today. Enbridge insists the segment is in good condition and says its loss would cause economic damage in both countries, a position shared by the Canadian government, which filed a legal brief yesterday in support of the company. Enbridge argues that the state has no authority to order the shutdown because the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration oversees interstate pipelines.
