LANSING, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – The battle between Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and a Canadian company over a pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac intensified on Friday when the Governor took legal action to shut down Enbridge’s Line 5.
The pipeline carries oil through the Straits of Mackinac but Whitmer’s office notified Enbridge it was revoking a 1953 easement and that the flow of oil through Line 5 must stop in 180 days.
The governor’s legal counsel said in a letter to the company the revocation resulted from “a violation of the public trust doctrine” and “a longstanding, persistent pattern of noncompliance with easement conditions and the standard of due care.”
Enbridge officials Friday Friday said they remain confident that Line 5 continues to operate safely and that there is no credible basis for terminating the 1953 Easement allowing the Dual Line 5 Pipelines to cross the Straits of Mackinac.
Enbridge received the notice from the Governor’s chief legal counsel Friday afternoon and is reviewing the document.
“This notice and the report from Michigan Department of Natural Resources are a distraction from the fundamental facts,” said Vern Yu, Executive Vice President and President, Liquids Pipelines. “Line 5 remains safe, as envisioned by the 1953 Easement, and as recently validated by our federal safety regulator.
We will continue to focus on the safe operation of the dual Line 5 pipelines at the Straits of Mackinac, ensuring the Great Lakes are protected while also reliably delivering the energy that helps to fuel Michigan’s and the region’s economy,” Yu continued.
Environmental groups contend it’s vulnerable to a rupture.
Enbridge reached an agreement with former Gov. Rick Snyder in 2018 to replace the underwater segment with a new pipe that would be housed in a tunnel to be drilled through bedrock beneath the Straits of Mackinac. The company is seeking permits for the project which is not affected by Whitmer’s shutdown order of Line 5.
