The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in favor of Michigan, stating that the state’s legal action to close a portion of an old pipeline beneath a Great Lakes channel will remain in state court. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, writing for a unanimous court, mentioned that Enbridge, a company based in Calgary, took too long to attempt moving the case to federal court. The dispute revolves around a pipeline that has transported crude oil and natural gas liquids between Superior, Wis., and Sarnia, Ont., since 1953.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel initiated the lawsuit in state court in June 2019 to invalidate the easement allowing Enbridge to run a 6.4-kilometer segment of the pipeline beneath the Straits of Mackinac, connecting Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. Nessel, a Democrat, secured a restraining order to halt pipeline operations from Judge James Jamo in June 2020, with Enbridge allowed to continue operations upon meeting safety standards.
Enbridge transferred the case to federal court in 2021, citing impacts on U.S. and Canadian trade. However, a three-judge panel from the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals returned the case to Jamo in June 2024, as the company missed a 30-day deadline to change jurisdictions.
The pipeline in question, known as Line 5, has raised concerns about a potential spill since 2017 when Enbridge engineers disclosed gaps in the protective coating of the section dating back to 2014. An incident involving a boat anchor damaging the section in 2018 heightened spill fears.
Under Governor Gretchen Whitmer, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources revoked the Line 5 easement in the straits in 2020. Enbridge has launched a separate federal lawsuit contesting the revocation.
Enbridge is currently pursuing permits to enclose the pipeline section beneath the straits within a protective tunnel. While the Michigan Public Service Commission issued relevant permits in 2023, Enbridge still requires approvals from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy.
The pipeline is also entangled in a legal battle in Wisconsin, where a federal judge in Madison directed Enbridge to shut down a section of Line 5 crossing the Bad River Band of Lake Superior’s reservation within three years. Enbridge has proposed rerouting the pipeline around the reservation and has appealed the shutdown order to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.