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Whitmer, Enbridge battle on; Trudeau raises issue at summit
Gary Park for Petroleum News
Faced with losing her legal fight to effectively drive Calgary-based Enbridge out of Michigan, state Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is turning her efforts to crippling the pipeline company by seeking alternative domestic propane supplies to serve a large portion of her state,
Whitmer’s spearheading of a battle to end the 68-year life of Line 5, which delivers 90% of the propane consumed in a wide region of Michigan, as well as providing vital feedstock to refineries in Ontario and Quebec, was dealt another setback in mid-November when a U.S. District Court judge dismissed Whitmer’s effort to send the future of Line 5 to state court.
Judge Janet Neff ruled that the case is “properly in Federal Court,” closing off one avenue for Whitmer to continue her campaign to shut Line 5, arguing that it is a threat to the Great Lakes because it presents an environmental hazard where it crosses through the Straits of Mackinac, where Lake Michigan and Lake Huron connect.
Enbridge has refused to comply with the governor’s attempt to impose an order, arguing she is exceeding her authority and that federal jurisdiction applies.
The company said it is seeking to make the pipeline safer by building a tunnel under the waterway to house the line that carries 540,000 barrels per day of crude oil and refined products from Western Canada.
1977 treaty invoked The Canadian government, which intervened in October in support of Enbridge, invoked a 1977 pipeline treaty with the United States to trigger negotiations between the two countries over the pipeline’s fate.
Enbridge said it was pleased Neff’s decision agreed with its consistent assertion that the dispute properly belongs in federal court.
Whitmer “has remained committed to ensuring the state’s energy needs are met when Enbridge oil pipelines shut down” by pursuing alternative supplies of propane “while protecting consumers and their pocketbooks,” said a spokeswoman for the governor.
Although President Joe Biden is a strong ally of Whitmer, the White House has remained tight-lipped on the issue, saying it will await a full environmental review of the tunnel proposal before making a decision.
That includes withholding any reaction to Enbridge’s planned tunnel.
On Nov. 7, a spokeswoman for the White House said “we expect the U.S. and Canada to engage constructively” on Line 5.
“I don’t have anything else to share about that,” she said.
The stance was echoed on Nov. 18 at a summit of the leaders of Canada, the U.S. and Mexico to deal with issues, especially a tax credit Biden has planned for manufacturers of electric motor vehicles, that Canada and Mexico argue contravenes the tri-lateral free trade pact.
Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he used the opportunity to press Biden to use his authority to protect Line 5 but offered no further details.
Separately, Mike Stivala, chief executive officer of New Jersey-based Suburban Propane Partners, said that if Whitmer succeeds in her campaign that would impose a significant constraint on U.S. energy supplies.
“It’s a very misguided thought that we can do without the amount of propane and oil that comes from Canada to serve some of the critical needs, particularly in the upper Midwest,” he said in a Bloomberg TV interview.
- GARY PARK
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