TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Canadian oil pipeline giant Enbridge sued Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer for demanding that the company shut down its underwater pipeline at the juncture of Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. Enbridge claimed that it was answerable only to the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration – not the state. In her November 13 order to halt the flow of oil, Whitmer alleged Enbridge had violated an easement granted 67 years ago to run a section of the pipeline along state-owned land below the Straits of Mackinac. Whitmer expressed concern about the possibility of a catastrophic pipeline break. At issue is Enbridge’s Line 5 pipe that moves 23 million gallons of oil a day from southwest Ontario to Superior, Wisconsin. Enbridge claims the pipeline is in sound condition and has never leaked.
Anchor snag. This is among photos to which environmentalists point in criticizing the Enbridge Line 5 underwater pipeline just west of the five-mile Mackinac bridge that connects Lower Michigan and the Upper Peninsula. An anchor from a surface vessel caught the pipeline in June. Line 5 is 67 years old. Image: Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy