Enbridge Dispute With Michigan Over Oil Pipeline Goes to US Supreme Court
(Bloomberg) -- Enbridge Inc.’s long-simmering dispute with the state of Michigan over an oil pipeline that runs under the Straits of Mackinac is headed for the US Supreme Court after years of legal battles and the intervention of Canada’s government.
The highest US court agreed to hear a case concerning whether Michigan’s efforts to shut down the so-called Line 5 oil pipeline belong in federal or state court. Enbridge wants the case heard by the federal court, arguing that the dispute deals with the foreign relations between Canada and the US. Canada has invoked a 1977 treaty to try and prevent Michigan from shutting the line, which supplies oil to refineries in Ontario and Quebec.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer ordered Line 5 shut in 2021, arguing it is a threat to the Great Lakes because it presents an environmental threat. Enbridge refused to comply, arguing the governor exceeded her authority and federal jurisdiction applies. Canada has invoked a nearly half-decade treaty governing cross border pipelines in order to keep the pipeline operating.
“We are encouraged the US Supreme Court has agreed to review the” case, Enbridge said in an emailed statement, citing conflicts between decisions from lower courts. “The Supreme Court review will resolve this conflict in the courts of appeals.”
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office didn’t immediately respond to request for comment.
The 540,000 barrel a day pipeline runs from Superior, Wisconsin, across Michigan and into Canada at Sarnia, Ontario. The line feeds light oil to refineries in central Canada as well as natural gas liquids that are converted to propane for Michigan homes.
Rather than shutting the line, which rests on the lake bottom, Enbridge seeks to build a tunnel under the Great Lakes to make Line 5 more secure.
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