Line 5 dispute 'directly and significantly' impacting Canada-U.S. relations: Enbridge
BNN Bloomberg
Lawyers for Enbridge Inc. are asking a judge in Michigan to consider the bilateral implications of the state's bid to shut down the Line 5 cross-border pipeline.
WASHINGTON -- Lawyers for Enbridge Inc. are asking a judge in Michigan to consider the bilateral implications of the state's bid to shut down the Line 5 cross-border pipeline.
Newly filed court documents say the dispute is now well and truly a federal matter because Canada has formally invoked a 1977 pipeline treaty with the United States.
Enbridge is arguing that as a result, U.S. District Court Judge Janet Neff should grant its original motion to have the case moved to federal court.
The 68-year-old Line 5 can carry as much 540,000 barrels of crude oil and natural gas liquids per day beneath the Great Lakes to markets throughout the U.S. Midwest.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer wants it shut down for fear of a catastrophic spill in the Straits of Mackinac, an ecologically sensitive waterway that links Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.
Enbridge, which has warned such a move would have dire consequences for energy consumers in both countries, says it will not shut down the line voluntarily.
