Governor Whitmer Moves To Shut Down Enbridge Pipeline

Governor Gretchen Whitmer took legal action today, Friday, November 13th, to shut down an oil pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac. The Canadian company, Enbridge, was notified by Governor Whitmer's office that they will be revoking an easement that was granted to them in 1953. The easement extended a nearly 4-mile section of the pipeline and must stop the flow of oil through it in 180 days.

This is a continuation of the battle going on over Line 5, which has been going on for several years now. Line 5 is part of a network that Enbridge uses to run oil from western Canada to different refineries in the United States and Ontario. Part of the battle is over the condition of the pipeline. While Enbridge says the segment of pipe is in good condition and has never leaked, other groups say the pipe is vulnerable to rupture which would end up devasting parts of both Lake Huron and Lake Michigan.

I commend Gov. Whitmer and Director Eichinger for their forceful actions today to address the grave threat posed by Enbridge’s unlawful operation of its pipelines in the Straits of Mackinac...With the steps they took today, Gov. Whitmer and Director Eichinger are making another clear statement that Line 5 poses a great risk to our state, and it must be removed from our public waterways. The arguments they are making to revoke the easement based on the public trust align with those outlined in my office’s pending lawsuit in Ingham County Circuit Court which seeks to shut down Line 5 to avoid an environmental catastrophe...said Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.

Attorney General Nessel filed the lawsuit on Friday, November 13th.

Source: Mid-Michigan Now