On June 27, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed a lawsuit against Enbridge’s dual pipeline system, Line 5, in Ingham County Circuit Court. Line 5 runs underneath the Straits of Mackinac and was slated to be repaired and expanded by Enbridge. The lawsuit claims that the 66-year-old pipeline system “violates the public trust doctrine, is a common law public nuisance, and violates the Michigan Environmental Protection Act because it is likely to cause pollution impairment and destruction of water and other natural resources.”
“I have consistently stated that Enbridge’s pipelines in the Straits need to be shut down as soon as possible because they present an unacceptable risk to the Great Lakes,” Nessel says in a statement. “Governor Whitmer tried her best to reach an agreement that would remove the pipelines from the Straits on an expedited basis, but Enbridge walked away from negotiations and instead filed a lawsuit against the state. Once that occurred, there was no need for further delay.”
“The location of the pipelines – which carry millions of gallons of oil each day and lie exposed in open water at the bottom of the Straits – combines great ecological sensitivity with exceptional vulnerability to anchor strikes,” she continues. “This situation with Line 5 differs from other bodies of water where pipelines exist because the currents in the Straits of Mackinac are complex, variable, and remarkably fast and strong.”
The lawsuit asks for the project to be shut down as soon as possible. To read the entire statement, visit michigan.gov/ag/0,4534,7-359-92297_47203-500746–,00.html.
Photo courtesy of pcurtner/Flickr.
