LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – An August court decision by U.S. District Judge Janet Neff kept the contentious battle between Enbridge and the State of Michigan in federal hands. In her 13-page opinion, Neff says, “This Court has already said important federal interests determine federal jurisdiction and a federal forum. The Court will not accept the State’s invitation to undermine its previous decision and perpetuate a forum battle.”

In her opinion, Neff accused the state of “procedural fencing and forum manipulation.”

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At stake is the continuing operation of the Straits Pipeline which transports crude oil and natural gas liquids through several states into Canada. There is also a Great Lakes Tunnel Project in the works which is a $500 million investment by Enbridge in Michigan and will be built deep under the Straits to house Line 5, making it even safer, virtually eliminating the chance of a pipeline incident in the Straits.

The Pipeline is in jeopardy due to the lawsuit filed by Michigan AG Dana Nessel “on behalf of the people of the state of Michigan.”

The lawsuit was filed in June of 2019 in more favorable Ingham County Circuit Court to request that the 1953 Straits of Mackinac Pipe Line Easement is void, “violates the public trust” and should be revoked. She further asks that the pipeline be permanently enjoined (prohibited or forbidden).

Nessel and Governor Whitmer have made shutting down the pipeline a top priority but have not achieved their goal yet. Nessel voluntarily withdrew an earlier lawsuit after that one was moved to federal court.

Although the state of Michigan’s motion to remand the 2019 case back to state court was denied by Neff, Michigan Advance recently got confirmation from Nessel’s office that they are working on steps to appeal the jurisdictional ruling.

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Nessel told Michigan Advance that in the meantime, she’s hoping to hear from the federal government about the situation. She told them, “The federal government is going to have to carefully assess this situation…There is great interest in this matter, clearly, by the Canadian government. I haven’t heard a lot in the way of responses from the [President Joe] Biden administration. But, I think it’s incumbent upon the Biden administration in some way, shape or form to weigh in on this issue.”

She’s not giving up the state’s appellate rights to fight for Michigan to maintain jurisdiction in the case because she wants Michigan to “have a say in what happens in our state as it pertains to pipelines and pipelines that are unsafe.”

Secretary of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg, spoke out against Line 5 during the presidential primaries in 2020. Nessel said about Buttigieg, “The individual who oversees the Department of Transportation and PHMSA (Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration) is now a Michigander – and not just a Michigander, (but) a Michigander who lives in Traverse City, which would be deeply affected by a Line 5 rupture.”

Enbridge spokesperson Ryan Duffy had told Bridge Michigan, “The State’s attempts to shut down this critical energy infrastructure raise important federal questions of interstate commerce, exclusive federal jurisdiction over pipeline safety and the serious ramifications for energy security and foreign affairs if the State and the U.S. government were to defy an international treaty with Canada that has been in place since 1977.”

The Enbridge website says that Line 5 “helps heat Michigan homes, schools, hospitals and businesses, fuels vehicles, and powers industry by safely and reliably transporting light crude oil, light synthetic crude oil and natural gas liquids”

They go on to say that “Families and businesses in the Upper Peninsula rely on Line 5 to meet 65% of their propane demand. Similarly, Line 5 delivers 55% of Michigan’s statewide propane needs. The light oil transported through Line 5 meets increasing demand from refineries in Michigan and Ohio. Regional refineries process this light oil into gas, diesel and jet fuel, which are vital to transportation and the economy. Additionally, product from Line 5 is essential to manufacturing more than 6,000 items, including eyewear, clothing, hand sanitizer, vehicles, shampoo, toothpaste, medical equipment, and other necessities used every day.”

The company says “shutting down Line 5, even temporarily, would have an immediate and severe consequences on the economies of Michigan, Ohio, Ontario and elsewhere.”

Line 5 transports up to 540,000 barrels per day of light crude oil, light synthetic crude and natural gas, which are refined into propane. It supplies 65% of propane demand in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and 55% of Michigan’s statewide propane needs.