The U.S. Supreme Court has left standing a decision that allows Enbridge Energy to sue the state of Michigan over its efforts to shut down a controversial oil-and-gas pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac.
Michigan has spent years trying to shut down Enbridge’s Line 5 on the grounds that its two parallel pipes running along the bottom of the Straits of Mackinac pose too big a risk to continue operating within the environmentally sensitive juncture that connects Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. Enbridge sued Michigan in federal courts, but the state argued it is immune under the doctrine of sovereign immunity.
“We are disappointed by the Supreme Court’s decision not to review this important issue of state sovereignty,” said Danny Wimmer, press secretary for Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. “We will continue to fight for the people of Michigan on these vital issues concerning the Line 5 pipelines in the Straits.”
The state lost in lower courts and the Supreme Court’s decision makes those decisions the final word on that question, which allows Enbridge to sue Michigan for attempting to use its regulatory power to scuttle Line 5 and stop the company from going forward with a project to encase Line 5 in a tunnel under the straits. The company says the pipeline is already safe, but the tunnel will make Line 5 an even safer means of transporting crude oil and natural gas liquids through the region.
“Line 5 is operating in accordance with federal law, interstate commerce regulations, and international treaty obligations,” said Enbridge spokesperson Ryan Duffy in an e-mail to Michigan Public Radio. “These frameworks recognize the essential role Line 5 plays in meeting the energy needs of the Great Lakes region and supporting its economic vitality.”
Multiple legal battles remain both on the substantive questions of law and the safety of the pipeline project, but also on the process and forum for those arguments. The Supreme Court heard arguments in February on a separate dispute over whether the case belongs in state or federal courts.
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