Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer abruptly dropped her federal court case aimed at shutting down the Line 5 cross-border pipeline.
Instead, Attorney General Dana Nessel says Whitmer will focus the government’s efforts on a long-standing state court action against the Enbridge Inc. pipeline owner that was originally filed in 2019.
In a statement, Nessel says the original case remains the “fastest and most viable path” for Line 5 to be permanently decommissioned.
Michigan’s efforts took a hit earlier this month when a United States District Court judge sided with Enbridge and allowed Whitmer’s case to remain in federal court.
Last November, Whitmer revoked the 68-year easement that allowed Enbridge to operate the line, fearing an environmental catastrophe in the Strait of Mackinac, where Line 5 crosses the Great Lakes.
The National Wildlife Association applauded the decision to drop the court case, calling Line 5 a “time bomb” and supporting Nessel’s motion to reopen the 2019 action.
“We’ve had enough that this Canadian corporation and the Canadian government itself are tying down Michigan’s efforts to protect our Great Lakes from a catastrophic oil spill,” Regional Executive Director Mike Shriberg said in a statement.
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“Line 5 is a time bomb and this move to eliminate Enbridge’s legal delay tactics is the best way forward to protect the Great Lakes.”
Nessel said she and Whitmer remain “aligned on our commitment” to shutting down the pipeline, “and this firing today will help us advance that goal.”
“I fully support the governor in her decision to dismiss the federal court case and will instead focus on our ongoing litigation in state court,” said Nessel. “The state court case is the fastest and most viable way to permanently dismantle Line 5.”
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Canada said earlier this month that planning was “well under way” for bilateral treaty talks between Canada and the United States in the pipeline dispute, although the timeline for formal negotiations remains unclear.
The treaty is a 1977 agreement between the two countries aimed at avoiding disrupting cross-border energy flow and proved to be a key element in Enbridge’s strategy to convince the U.S. District Court that a bilateral dispute belonged to a federal court.
If formal negotiations fail, the next stage in the dispute resolution process would be binding international arbitration.
Canada chose to formally invoke the 44-year-old treaty last month after talks involving a court-appointed mediator broke up between the two parties.
Enbridge welcomed Michigan’s decision to drop the federal court case and said in a statement that the company would continue to push for federal jurisdiction over Line 5 to be affirmed.
The White House has acknowledged that the US Army Corps of Engineers is conducting an environmental assessment on Enbridge’s plans to enclose the subsea portion of the twin pipeline in a deep, fortified underground tunnel. But they have resisted pressure to get involved in the dispute itself.
Line 5 carries more than 540,000 barrels per day of crude oil and natural gas liquids across the Canada-United States border and the Great Lakes via a twin line that runs along the lake bed below the strait. linking Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.
Advocates call it a vital and indispensable source of energy, particularly propane, for several Midwestern states, including Michigan and Ohio. They also say it is a key source of raw material for critical refineries on the north side of the border, including those that supply jet fuel to some of Canada’s busiest airports.
Critics want the line closed, arguing that it is only a matter of time before an anchor or technical failure triggers a catastrophic environmental disaster in one of the area’s major watersheds.
This Canadian Press report was first published on November 30, 2021.
Reference-www.nationalobserver.com