GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (Legal Newsline) – Enbridge is fighting claims from Michigan officials that its pipeline through the state isn’t safe.
The company also says Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has no authority to upset the complicated federal regulation that permits Enbridge from transporting oil through the pipeline, as it has done for decades without incident.
Enbridge’s federal lawsuit, filed Nov. 24 in federal court, escalates the fight begun when Whitmer issued an order to stop the flow of oil within 180 days. She claims Enbridge violated an easement granted by the State almost 70 years ago below the Straits of Mackinac to run a section of pipeline known as Line 5.
Attorney General Dana Nessel subsequently sued the company in state court to back Whitmer’s notice.
But Enbridge says the two are out of line.
“In the face of continued roadblocks by this administration, it’s time for the State to stop playing politics with the energy needs and anxieties of U.S. and Canadian consumers and businesses that depend on Line 5,” said Vern Yu, president of Liquids Pipelines.
“Enbridge’s Line 5 has served Michiganders safely without spilling a drop of oil at the Straits crossing for more than 65 years, over nine different State administrations.”
Enbridge says it has spent significantly on Line 5 projects to appease the State like a new crossing under the St. Clair River. A disruption would create a propane shortage and higher energy prices for consumers, the company claims.
That shortage would make 14 million gallons of gasoline and other transportation fuels unavailable on adaily basis to consumers in Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Ontario and Quebec, the company says.
Whitmer is claiming there are safety concerns with Line 5.
“Defendants’ November 13 Shutdown Order reflects a local policy that, on its face, interferes with the comprehensive federal regulation of pipeline safety, impermissibly burdens and discriminates against interstate and foreign commerce, and hinders the United States’ ability to ‘speak with one voice’ with respect to transboundary shipments by pipeline,” Enbridge’s lawsuit says.
“If enforced by judicial ruling, the Shutdown Order would create a disturbing precedent whereby other jurisdictions could take copycat actions and thereby impede interstate and international commerce in petroleum and other products.
“Only the Federal Government may determine, taking into account competing interests within the Nation as a whole, whether safety or other local conditions warrant the shutdown of Line 5.”