Enbridge refuses to obey pipeline order

Canadian pipeline operator Enbridge said it will defy Michigan’s order to shut down oil pipelines running under the Straits of Mackinac, which state officials say make Lakes Michigan and Huron vulnerable to an oil spill.

Enbridge on Tuesday said Michigan lacks the authority to terminate or revoke a nearly 70year-old pipeline easement that allows for the company’s Line 5 dual pipelines to transport heating fuel through the U.S. from northwest Wisconsin to Ontario. The company said it plans to operate Line 5 until a replacement pipeline comes into service.

“Our dual lines in the Straits (ofMackinac) are safe and in full compliance with the federal pipeline safety standards that govern them,” Enbridge Executive Vice President Vern Yu wrote in a letter Tuesday to Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Michigan Department of Natural Resources Director Daniel Eichinger.

Enbridge has a major presence in Houston with more than 1,000 employees. The company acquired Houston-based Spectra Energy in 2018 for $3.3 billion, creating one of the largest pipeline companies in North America.

The Great Lakes pipeline showdown comes as pipeline

companies nationally face legal challenges from environmental activists concerned about oil spills from pipelines. Over the summer, federal courts and state governments — in response to environmental lawsuits — blocked several major pipelines, including the Dakota Access Pipeline from North Dakota to Illinois and the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to Nebraska.

Whitmer in November notified Enbridge that Michigan is revoking a 1953 easement that allows the company to operate the Line 5 pipelines. Whitmer gave Enbridge until May to shut down the pipeline, which environmental groups say is vulnerable to damage from ship anchors resulting in a catastrophic oil spill in the Great Lakes.

Enbridge on Tuesday said it requested the U.S. District Court to dismiss Michigan’s revocation of its pipeline easement, arguing the federal Pipeline and Hazardous-Materials Safety Administration reviewed and approved the pipeline’s operation in June and September 2020. The company earlier warned shutting down the Line 5 pipeline could raise natural gas prices for Michigan residents.