By Canadian Press

MICHIGAN GOVERNOR FILES LEGAL ACTION

Alberta’s energy minister pushes back at attempt to shut down Enbridge’s Line 5

Nov 16, 2020 | 6:30 PM

Alberta’s Energy Minister says an attempt by Michigan’s governor to shut down Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline will likely be “headed to a long, protracted process in the American court system.”

Sonya Savage says Line 5 has provided a majority of the propane needed to heat homes in the Upper Peninsula as well as providing neighbouring states, as well as Ontario and Quebec, with safe, reliable energy.

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s office has notified Enbridge that it was revoking an easement granted in 1953 to extend a roughly 6.4-kilometre section of the pipeline through the Straits of Mackinac. The revocation will take effect within 180 days, at which point the flow of oil must stop.

Whitmer’s legal counsel said in a letter to Enbridge that the revocation resulted from “a violation of the public trust doctrine” and “a longstanding, persistent pattern of noncompliance with easement conditions and the standard of due care.”

“Enbridge has routinely refused to take action to protect our Great Lakes and the millions of Americans who depend on them for clean drinking water and good jobs,” Whitmer said in a statement. “They have repeatedly violated the terms of the 1953 easement by ignoring structural problems that put our Great Lakes and our families at risk.

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“Most importantly, Enbridge has imposed on the people of Michigan an unacceptable risk of a catastrophic oil spill in the Great Lakes that could devastate our economy and way of life. That’s why we’re taking action now, and why I will continue to hold accountable anyone who threatens our Great Lakes and fresh water.”

“This is just the latest development in long-standing efforts by Michigan’s executive branch against a vital energy corridor for the state,” Savage said in a statement on Friday.

“Like so many regulatory matters concerning pipelines, it is expected that the latest move announced today will be headed to a long, protracted process in the American court system.”

Savage added, “The project is a critical piece of infrastructure that is being made even safer through the Great Lakes Tunnel Project and can provide the energy still required for the coming decades.”

(With file from The Canadian Press, Global News)