Michigan judge allows restart of disputed oil pipeline

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — A Michigan judge Wednesday allowed Enbridge to resume pumping oil through a Midwestern pipeline, nearly a week after shutting it down because of damage to a structure that anchors a section of the line running through a Great Lakes channel. Circuit Judge James Jamo granted a request from state Attorney General Dana Nessel to close the line June 25 after Enbridge, the Canadian company that operates it, reported that an inspection had found damage to an anchor supporting the underwater section’s eastern line. In his amended order Wednesday, Jamo said the company could restart the western line to conduct a safety test and could keep it running “subject to the results of the and further order of this court.” Within a week of the restart, Jamo said, Enbridge must provide the state with test results for a particular area of the western line that a recent inspection found had apparently been scraped by a vessel cable or similar object. “Enbridge’s Line 5 has served Michiganders safely without incident at the Straits crossing for more than 65 years,” the company said in a statement. Nessel said in a statement that Jamo’s ruling “allows the state to receive the vital information surrounding this incident that we need to complete an informed analysis of the damage and evaluate the threat this pipeline poses to our environment if left to operate in its current state.” Environmental groups have long pushed to shut down Line 5, which they contend is a safety hazard.