Enbridge sues Michigan over oil pipeline shutdown order

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Enbridge filed a legal challenge Tuesday to Michigan Gov. Vern Yu, the company’s president for liquids pipelines, said the state should “stop playing politics with the energy needs and anxieties of U.S. and Canadian consumers and businesses that depend on Line 5.” Whitmer spokeswoman Tiffany Brown said Enbridge’s suit “brazenly defies the people of Michigan and their right to protect the Great Lakes from a catastrophic oil spill.” “In short, Enbridge claims it can continue to pump oil through the Straits of Mackinac indefinitely, posing enormous risk to our economy and way of life — and that the people of Michigan have no say in the matter,” Brown said. Enbridge said in its suit that Congress had granted the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration “exclusive authority” over energy pipelines. “An irresponsible shut-down would not only impact the price of gas and propane and the raw materials for countless everyday products, but would also strain the logistics needed to move critical goods throughout our state and region,” John Dulmes, executive director of the Michigan Chemistry Council, said in support of Enbridge’s lawsuit. “We urge the courts to reject this irresponsible effort to strip Governor Whitmer and the state of Michigan of their authority to protect our Great Lakes and our way of life,” said Mike Shriberg, regional director for the National Wildlife Federation.