Whitmer: Shutdown of Enbridge Line 5 appears inevitable amid stalled talks
LANSING – Unless Enbridge returns to the negotiating table, it appears inevitable that Attorney General Dana Nessel will move to shut down the Enbridge Line 5 oil and gas pipeline through the Straits of Mackinac, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Wednesday.
Whitmer, speaking to the editorial board of the Lansing State Journal, said she entered negotiations with Enbridge to agree on a firm date "when we could know that the line was going to be out of the water."
However, "Enbridge could not or would not have that conversation, and I found out through the media that they were suing me to enforce the agreement that they had with the (former Gov. Rick) Snyder administration," Whitmer said.
That agreement, backed by legislation rushed through the Legislature during the December lame-duck session, said Enbridge would pay to dig a tunnel into bedrock beneath the straits. A replacement pipeline would be encased inside the tunnel, protecting it from threats such as anchor strikes and preventing the mixing of oil and Great Lakes water if a leak should occur.
Read more: https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2019/06/19/whitmer-enbridge-line-5-shutdown/1503163001/
