US DoJ weighs in on Line 5 dispute, sides with Enbridge

The US Department of Justice (DoJ) has waded into a long-running dispute between Enbridge and the State of Michigan over the Line 5 oil and natural gas liquids (NGL) pipeline.

The dispute is currently being fought out in separate court cases at the state and federal level. While the administration of US President Donald Trump is not involved in the federal court case, the DoJ nonetheless announced on September 19 that it had filed a statement of interest in the case before the US District Court for the Western District of Michigan the previous week.

The statement argues that by seeking to have an underwater section of Line 5 that runs through the Straits of Mackinac shut down, the State of Michigan has overstepped its authority.

“By imposing its own safety standards on an interstate (and international) pipeline, Michigan improperly encroached on PHMSA’s exclusive authority under the Pipeline Safety Act,” the DoJ said in its announcement.

“The federal government already comprehensively regulates pipeline safety, but Michigan is trying to usurp the Department of Transportation’s statutory authority,” stated the US Acting Assistant Attorney General from the DoJ’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD), Adam Gustafson. “President Trump has made clear that the United States will not tolerate state overreach that interferes with American energy dominance.”

In response, Danny Wimmer, a spokesperson for Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, told media that that Nessel planned to file a full response to the DoJ by October 10. According to the Associated Press, Wimmer also pointed to earlier filings in which Nessel had argued that revoking the easement that allows Line 5 to operate in the Straits of Mackinac would not impose or continue any safety regulations, and instead it would be a pipeline routing decision, which would fall into the state’s authority.

Also on September 19, the Michigan Supreme Court announced that it would hear two challenges to the Michigan Public Service Commission’s permit for a tunnel in the Straits of Mackinac that Enbridge is proposing to build in order to house the underwater section of Line 5, which would also be replaced. The state’s Supreme Court will reconsider a decision in favour of the permit made by the Michigan Court of Appeals in February.

This court case is playing out separately from the fight over whether Line 5 should be shut down altogether.