LANSING, Mich. (WJRT) - One of two lawsuits seeking to shutdown an Enbridge oil pipeline under the Straits of Mackinac has been dismissed.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced Tuesday that her administration is ending a lawsuit filed in federal court so Michigan officials can focus solely on a separate lawsuit against Enbridge in state courts.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed the lawsuit in state courts back in 2019, but the judge overseeing that case paused proceedings while Whitmer's federal lawsuit continued.
Whitmer filed the federal lawsuit in November 2020, asking the court to force the Canadian pipeline company to shut down Line 5. The dual pipeline near the Mackinac Bridge carries 23 million gallons of crude oil every day from Sarnia, Ontario through Michigan into Wisconsin.
Whitmer had asked the federal court to relinquish jurisdiction of her case to state courts.
“While I respectfully disagree, the federal court has now decided to keep the lawsuit I filed in November 2020," Whitmer said. "I believe the people of Michigan, and our state courts, should have the final say on whether this oil company should continue pumping 23 million gallons of crude oil through the Straits of Mackinac every day."
Whitmer has sought to shut down the underwater pipeline since soon after she took office in January 2020 over concerns about a potentially catastrophic oil spill if it ruptures.
She ordered Enbridge to shutdown the 68-year-old pipeline in May 2020 and served the company with a notice that its easement to operate the pipeline in Michigan waters was revoked in November 2020.
“I fully support the Governor in her decision to dismiss the federal court case and instead focus on our ongoing litigation in state court," Nessel said in a separate statement. "The state court case is the quickest and most viable path to permanently decommission Line 5. The Governor and I continue to be aligned in our commitment to protect the Great Lakes and this dismissal today will help us advance that goal.”
The Canadian government has raised objections to shutting down the pipeline, citing economic concerns and the effect on jobs in the region. Canadian officials intervened in the federal lawsuit through a 1977 pipelines treaty between the two national governments.
Whitmer pointed out that dismissing her federal lawsuit will not affect Enbridge's plan to bore a tunnel underneath the Straits of Mackinac to carry the oil pipeline. The company believes it would contain any spilled oil in bedrock if the pipes ever break.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is conducted an extensive review of the tunnel plans before construction can begin.
Protesters broke into a fenced-in area housing an emergency shutoff valve for the Enbridge pipeline in Tuscola County last month. The company temporarily shut down the pipeline.
A video from protesters on YouTube apparently showed one of them turning a wrench closing a valve.
