Is the Line 5 pipeline an essential source of energy or is it an environmental hazard?
Since 2019, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel have sought to shut down Line 5, which has been pumping about 540,000 gallons of hydrocarbons daily across the lakebed of Lake Michigan since 1953. Whitmer and Nessel say they fear a spill similar to the 2010 oil spill near the Kalamazoo River – the largest inland oil spill in U.S. history.
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A federal court on Friday ordered Canadian oil company Enbridge to cease the flow of oil and decommission within three years the segment of its Line 5 pipeline in Wisconsin trespassing on the reservation of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians.
Concurrently, Michigan’s business leaders urged the United States Army Corps of Engineers to give the approval needed for the construction of the Great Lakes Tunnel.
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As two train derailments – one in Ohio and one in Michigan – remain national news, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel continue their crusade to shut down the Line 5 pipeline.
If successful in their efforts, moving the petroleum products would transition from pipelines to tanker truck and rail transportation, according to experts interviewed by The Center Square. This transition would likely drive up prices for consumers, increase carbon emissions, and prove less safe, they say.
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Lansing’s crop of newly elected and reelected officials is mostly mum on the fate of Line 5, or more specifically, the five-mile dual pipeline spanning the lakebed of the Straits of Mackinac.
The 2022 midterm election delivered majorities for Michigan Democrats in the state House and Senate, and the governor’s office – a trifecta for the first time in 40 years. State public policies and litigations could be significantly impacted by both chambers and the reelection of two key Democrats, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel.
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Although there are many telling differences between Michigan’s 2022 gubernatorial candidates, energy policy may be the most significant from an economic perspective for families.
Democrat incumbent Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has led the charge to close the Line 5 dual pipeline that has spanned the Straits of Mackinac since 1953, whereas Republican challenger Tudor Dixon has pledged to keep the hydrocarbons flowing through the five-mile stretch of pipeline positioned on the lakebed of Lake Michigan.
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Governor Gretchen Whitmer had a mixed result in separate courts on two key issues the Democrat is campaigning on for re-election in 2022: advancing the end of fossil fuel production and maintaining access to abortion without limit in the state of Michigan.
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Republican gubernatorial candidates support Line 5 as it exists and champion the proposed $500 million tunnel to house the pipeline 100-feet beneath the Straits of Mackinac.
Their Democrat opponent, incumbent Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, has been attempting to shut down the pipeline as well as prevent construction of the five-mile conduit, which would be buried beneath the lakebed of the Straits.
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The Michigan Public Service Commission on Thursday ordered the record reopened in Enbridge Energy LP’s application to relocate Line 5 into a tunnel buried beneath the Straits of Mackinac.
The MPSC noted the record as it currently stands lacks critical engineering and safety data.
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Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) was silent after agitators tampered with an Enbridge pipeline following her public calls to shut it down.
Anti-energy activists appeared to trespass on Enbridge property in Tuscola County to use a pipe wrench on an emergency shutoff valve Tuesday:
Read MoreMichigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) lashed out at fellow leftist Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau after his government bypassed her to ensure an energy pipeline continues operating.
Whitmer has sought to shut down Enbridge’s Line 5, which runs from Canada through Michigan to refineries in the Midwest. If Whitmer is successful, energy disruptions and price increases would be inevitable, analysts say.
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Ohio state Rep. Brian Baldridge (R-90-Winchester) spoke before the Michigan Senate last week to encourage the state to keep Enbridge Line 5 operating.
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Citing the “grave threat posed by Enbridge’s unlawful operation of its pipelines in the Straits of Mackinac,” 28 entities filed friend of the court briefs in support of Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s motion to remand in State of Michigan, et al v Enbridge Energy, et al.
Four Native American tribes, the attorneys general of 16 states and the District of Columbia, six environmental organizations and the Great Lakes Business Network, and two state governors filed briefs expressing support of the attorney general’s efforts to ensure the lawsuit her office filed last November remains in Ingham County Circuit Court.
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Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration hasn’t revealed alternatives to transport more than half a million barrels of natural gas liquids if it succeeds in its legal efforts to close the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline in May 2021.
Enbridge spokesperson Ryan Duffy told The Center Square there are no pipelines or other alternatives that can readily substitute for Line 5 in transporting the crude oil and natural gas liquids to the refineries and other facilities served by Line 5.
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Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel on Tuesday expressed her approval of former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg as a nominee to head up the U.S. Department of Transportation.
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Shutting down the Line 5 pipeline through the Straits of Mackinac – even if only temporarily – will send adverse effects rippling throughout Michigan, other areas of the Midwest and, as well, Ontario and Quebec.
That’s according to not only Enbridge, which operates Line 5, but also the refineries that rely on the pipeline to supply the fuel provided to consumers at the fuel pump and such major customers as Detroit Metropolitan Airport.
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An Ingham County judge ordered Enbridge on Thursday to shut down its Line 5 pipeline after the company reported last week that the line had sustained damage.
The order follows a temporary restraining order requested by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.
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Enbridge Inc. rebuffed a request from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to shut down Line 5 after one of the supports for the pipeline sustained damage, according to a statement released by the company on Saturday.
Enbridge owns Line 5, a set of two 20-inch pipelines running under the Straits of Mackinac that pump crude oil. The company notified the state on Thursday that an anchor support on one of the pipelines had “incurred significant damage,” according to a statement from Whitmer’s office. The damage was reportedly discovered on or around May 26.
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The Michigan Court of Claims ruled in favor of Enbridge Energy on Thursday, effectively reinstating a controversial deal the company had with former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder.
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Grand Traverse County became the fourth county in Michigan and the first county in the Lower Peninsula to pass similar resolutions approving the proposed Enbridge Line 5 tunnel. Other counties passing resolutions in favor of the proposed Line 5 project include Gogebic, Iron and Dickinson.
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U.S. Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders (I-VT) called for the shutdown of Line 5 in Michigan in a tweet on Thursday afternoon, simultaneously citing the climate crisis and supporting the Green New Deal.
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