A Michigan judge has ruled in favour of Enbridge Inc. in its long-standing dispute with the state over the Line 5 cross-border pipeline.
In her ruling on Thursday, Judge Janet Neff said the case belongs in federal court — a blow to Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s bid to shut down the pipeline.
It’s the second time in nine months that Neff has sided with Enbridge on the question of jurisdiction. One of the core issues at hand is whether a federal court is the most appropriate forum for the Line 5 case.
In November 2021, the judge rejected the Michigan attorney general’s efforts to move the case into state court. In a ruling similar to Thursday’s, Neff wrote that the Line 5 case involves a “substantial federal question.”
Later that November, Gov. Whitmer abandoned the lawsuit, saying the state would pursue a separate case with the same objective.
Whitmer has been trying since November 2020 to shut down Line 5 for fear of a spill in the Straits of Mackinac, between Michigan’s Upper and Lower peninsulas, where the pipeline crosses the Great Lakes.
Proponents, including Canada’s federal government, call Line 5 a vital and indispensable source of energy for Ontario, Quebec and several Midwestern states.
Environmental activists fear an anchor strike or technical failure could trigger a catastrophe in one of the area’s most important watersheds.
Earlier today, Enbridge Inc. closed a deal to take over operations of the Gray Oak oil pipeline in Texas, a 1,367-kilometre pipeline with a shipping capacity of 900,000 barrels per day.
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