A US judge has blocked Michigan from enforcing a 2020 order that would have shut down Enbridge’s Line 5 oil pipeline, which runs beneath the Straits of Mackinac, the channel connecting Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.Reuters reported that on Wednesday US District Judge Robert Jonker ruled that oversight of pipeline safety and the protection of the Straits is a federal responsibility, effectively preventing Michigan from shutting down the pipeline.The ruling cited that pipeline safety falls under federal jurisdiction, thereby limiting the state’s authority..The decision comes five years after Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer revoked an easement allowing the Calgary-based energy giant to operate the 6.4-kilometre stretch of the aging pipeline, citing environmental risks in the event of a spill.Enbridge has previously challenged the state’s move in court.The 72-year-old pipeline, which transports approximately 540,000 barrels per day of crude oil and refined products from Superior, Wisconsin, to Sarnia, Ontario, has continued operations throughout the legal dispute..Enbridge continues to face other hurdles in relation to Line 5.The company has proposed constructing a tunnel to house the aging pipeline, but the plan has met opposition from environmental groups and Native American tribes.In April, the US Army Corps of Engineers granted the Line 5 tunnel project national energy emergency status, fast-tracking a key federal permitting process.The Western Standard has reached out to Enbridge for comment.
