Pipeline operator defiant as deadline nears

FILE - In this October 2016, file photo, is an aboveground section of Enbridge's Line 5 at the Mackinaw City, Mich., pump station. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is threatening to go after Enbridge's profits from a Great Lakes oil pipeline if it isn't shut down. The Democratic governor issued the warning Tuesday, May 11, 2021, in a letter to Enbridge, a Canadian oil transport company. (AP Photo/John Flesher, File)
FILE - In this October 2016, file photo, is an aboveground section of Enbridge's Line 5 at the Mackinaw City, Mich., pump station. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is threatening to go after Enbridge's profits from a Great Lakes oil pipeline if it isn't shut down. The Democratic governor issued the warning Tuesday, May 11, 2021, in a letter to Enbridge, a Canadian oil transport company. (AP Photo/John Flesher, File)

LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer threatened Tuesday to go after Enbridge Inc.'s profits from a Great Lakes oil pipeline if the company defies her order to shut it down.

The Democratic governor issued the warning in a letter to the Canadian energy transport company on the eve of a state-imposed deadline to halt operation of Line 5, which moves oil through northern Wisconsin and Michigan to refineries in Ontario. Enbridge repeated its intention to defy Whitmer's demand.

A nearly 4-mile-long section of Line 5 divides into two pipes that cross the bottom of the Straits of Mackinac, which connects Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.

Whitmer, backed by environmentalists and Indian tribes, says the segment is vulnerable to a catastrophic spill in the channel. In November, she revoked an easement that Michigan had granted in 1953 for the pipes to occupy the lake bottom and ordered them closed by today.

Enbridge insists the segment is in good condition and says its loss would cause economic damage in both countries, a position also of the Canadian government, which filed a legal brief Tuesday in support of the company.

In her letter to Vern Yu, Enbridge's executive vice president for liquids pipelines, Whitmer said continued operation of the line after Wednesday "constitutes an intentional trespass" and that the company would do so "at its own risk."

"If the state prevails in the underlying litigation, Enbridge will face the prospect of having to disgorge to the state all profits it derives from its wrongful use of the easement lands following that date," Whitmer said.

Enbridge argues that the state has no authority to order the shutdown because the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration oversees interstate pipelines.

"We will not stop operating the pipeline unless we are ordered by a court or our regulator, which we view as highly unlikely," spokesman Ryan Duffy said. "Line 5 is operating safely, reliably and is in compliance with the law."

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed a lawsuit last fall in support of Whitmer's order, while Enbridge countersued in federal court and wants the matter decided there. A federal judge is considering which court should have jurisdiction.

Nessel's office said it will continue seeking a shutdown order.

"We are reviewing other remedies that may be available to the state if Enbridge continues to operate the pipelines after the deadline," spokeswoman Lynsey Mukomel said.

Although U.S. District Judge Janet Neff has ordered mediation, the latest developments suggested the two sides remained deeply entrenched.

Information for this article was contributed by Rob Gillies of The Associated Press.

Upcoming Events