Michigan governor seeks shutdown of Great Lakes oil pipeline

Source: Associated Press


Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is taking legal action to force the shutdown of a pipeline that carries oil beneath the channel linking Lake Michigan and Lake Huron

By JOHN FLESHER AP Environmental Writer
November 13, 2020, 5:20 PM
• 5 min read

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. -- Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer took legal action Friday to shut down a pipeline that carries oil beneath a channel linking two of the Great Lakes.

Whitmer's office notified Canadian company Enbridge Inc. that it was revoking an easement granted 67 years ago to extend a roughly 4-mile (6.4-kilometer) section of the pipeline through the Straits of Mackinac. The revocation takes effect in 180 days, when the flow of oil must stop.

“Enbridge has routinely refused to take action to protect our Great Lakes and the millions of Americans who depend on them for clean drinking water and good jobs,” the Democratic governor said in a statement. "They have repeatedly violated the terms of the 1953 easement by ignoring structural problems that put our Great Lakes and our families at risk.

“Most importantly, Enbridge has imposed on the people of Michigan an unacceptable risk of a catastrophic oil spill in the Great Lakes that could devastate our economy and way of life.”


Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/michigan-governor-seeks-shutdown-great-lakes-oil-pipeline-74193031