Michigan judge allows restart of disputed oil pipeline

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan judge on Wednesday allowed Enbridge to resume pumping oil through a Midwestern pipeline, nearly a week after shutting it down because of damage to a structure that anchors a section of the line running through a Great Lakes channel.

Enbridge’s Line 5 moves crude oil and liquids used in propane from the city of Superior to Sarnia, Ontario, passing through parts of Michigan’s upper and lower peninsulas. A four-mile-long segment divides into two pipes that cross the bottom of the Straits of Mackinac, which connects Lakes Huron and Michigan.

Circuit Judge James Jamo granted a request from state Attorney General Dana Nessel to close the line June 25 after Enbridge, the Canadian company that operates it, reported that an inspection had found damage to an anchor supporting the underwater section’s eastern line. The pipe itself was unharmed, the company said.

During a hearing Tuesday, Enbridge attorneys urged Jamo to lift the restriction for the underwater western line so oil could resume flowing. The company says the interruption threatens supplies for customers of refineries that receive Line 5’s oil in Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania, as well as the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec.

Read more: https://dailyreporter.com/2020/07/01/michigan-judge-allows-restart-of-disputed-oil-pipeline/
(Milwaukee Daily Reporter)