Other Great Lakes states are also fighting Enbridge, particularly on its 340-mile Line 3 pipeline expansion project, which every day will transport 1 million barrels of tar sands oil across northern Minnesota on a route from Alberta, Canada, to Superior, Wisconsin. Tar sands oil is considered one of the most potentially damaging forms of oil because it is so dense and especially difficult to extract if spilled. It is also known to emit roughly 15 percent more carbon dioxide than conventional oils when converted to gasoline. Photo courtesy of Enbridge.
THE CLOCK IS
TICKING
You might know that Gov. Whitmer’s May 12 deadline to shut down Line 5 is days away, but did you know about Enbridge’s other pipeline fight across the water? Northern Express dives into Line 3, Line 5, ‘man camps,’ and the waves Native Americans and other citizens are making to evict Enbridge from the Great Lakes. By Craig Manning “Shut Down Line 5 Pipeline.” “Keep Oil Out of the Great Lakes.” “No Tunnel.” If you’ve driven around a northern Michigan neighborhood in the past five years, you’ve probably read these messages on a yard sign. They relate back to a seemingly endless battle between environmental conservationists and Enbridge, the Canadian energy company that operates an extensive pipeline system that runs underneath the Straits of Mackinac. Critics of the pipeline say that the infrastructure is degrading, with every day bringing the Great Lakes closer to a potentially catastrophic oil leak. Enbridge argues that shutting down the pipeline would set off a domino effect, hindering energy availability and affordability for countless households and industries in the United States and Canada. The debate has raged for years, with everyone from Native American tribes to Michigan municipalities weighing in. WHITMER RAISES THE STAKES On Nov. 13, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Director Dan Eichinger upped the ante in the Line 5 debate: The governor’s office announced that it had “notified
Enbridge that the 1953 easement allowing it to operate dual pipelines in the Straits of Mackinac to transport petroleum and other products is being revoked and terminated.” Whitmer’s office argues that it has grounds to revoke and terminate Enbridge’s easement under Michigan’s “public trust doctrine,” a legal principle that effectively makes the waters of the Great Lakes a public good rather than the property of the state. Under the public trust doctrine, the state has an obligation to protect public water resources “for the use and enjoyment of all.” “The state found that the 1953 easement violated the public trust doctrine from its inception because the easement does not make the necessary public trust findings,” the press release noted. “Moreover, the state also found that the continued use of the dual pipelines cannot be reconciled with the public’s rights in the Great Lakes and the state’s duty to protect them. Transporting millions of gallons of petroleum products each day through two 67-year-old pipelines that lie exposed along the entire span of a busy shipping channel presents an extraordinary and unacceptable risk. The dual pipelines are vulnerable to anchor strikes, similar dangerous impacts, and the inherent risks of pipeline operations.” Whitmer’s office also alleged that Enbridge has “repeatedly and incurably violated” the
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terms of the easement agreement, which requires the company to “exercise due care in operating the pipelines.” Such due diligence requirements include making sure that the underwater pipelines “are physically supported at least every 75 feet” and are shielded by multiple layers of protective coating to prevent corrosion and damage. ENBRIDGE FIGHTS BACK Under the action that Whitmer and Eichinger took in November, Enbridge was given a May 12 deadline to shut down Line 5 and cease operations in the Straits of Mackinac. With that deadline just days away, though, oil continues to course through Line 5. On Nov. 24, Enbridge fired back at Whitmer and Eichinger, announcing that it had filed a federal complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan “seeking an injunction to stop the State of Michigan from taking any steps to prevent the operation of Line 5.” “The attempt to shut down Line 5 interferes with the comprehensive federal regulation of pipeline safety and burdens interstate and foreign commerce in clear violation of federal law and the U.S. Constitution,” Enbridge stated in a press release. The release continued: “A federal agency, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety
Administration (PHMSA), is Enbridge’s safety regulator, not the State of Michigan. In fact, only three months ago the safety of the dual pipelines was reviewed by our regulator and the pipelines were found to be fit for service. The state’s attempt to assume the role of safety regulator through its notice purporting to ‘terminate and revoke’ the easement is improper and unlawful.” For its part, Enbridge maintains that it has met “all obligations under its agreements with the State of Michigan,” and argues that disrupting Line 5 would create shortages in propane, gasoline, and fuel – affecting heating of homes, gas prices, aviation travel costs, and more. Six months later, Enbridge Spokesman Ryan Duffy tells Northern Express that the company is still locked in its battle with the state. “The state has not shown that Enbridge is out of compliance with the easement agreement, and Line 5 continues to operate safely, as determined by PHMSA, the safety regulator of interstate pipelines in the United States.” Duffy said. “The [Whitmer] administration and Enbridge are engaged in court-ordered mediation. Enbridge favors the mediation process and believes it is an opportunity to resolve issues. We take it seriously and are optimistic the process will enable the parties to address key matters in
