This reporting is made possible by the Northern Michigan Journalism Collaborative, led by Bridge Michigan and Interlochen Public Radio, and funded by Press Forward Northern Michigan.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and state Attorney General Dana Nessel are fighting in court to shut down Enbridge Energy’s Line 5 petroleum pipeline, but voters could change the state’s legal strategy when they elect a new governor and AG in November.
To avoid the risk of a Great Lakes oil spill, Enbridge in 2018 struck a deal with then-Gov. Rick Snyder to encase the section of Line 5 that runs along the lakebed of the Straits of Mackinac in an underground concrete tunnel. The project has been mired in state and federal permitting and court battles ever since.
Shortly after taking office in 2019, Nessel sued in state court to shut down Line 5. After Enbridge tried unsuccessfully to move the case to federal court, the case was sent back to Ingham County Circuit Court.
Whitmer, who also took office in 2019, ordered the pipeline’s shutdown in 2020, but Enbridge sued in federal court. Enbridge won in District Court but the state appealed to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Given the governor and attorney general’s role in setting Michigan’s legal strategy, the November general election could prove pivotal to Line 5’s future.
Republican gubernatorial candidate John James has vowed to end Michigan's litigation against Enbridge and continue his longstanding support for the Line 5 tunnel.
Democratic candidate Jocelyn Benson’s campaign did not answer questions from Bridge Michigan about her stance on Line 5 or the tunnel project, instead providing a statement in which Benson vowed to “explore every option to ensure we are protecting our Great Lakes and diversifying our energy sources.”
Benson’s environmental agenda calls for a statewide audit of aging pipelines and a plan to replace any, “including Line 5,” that are polluting or hazardous.
On the attorney general side, Republican candidate Doug Lloyd has vowed to end Michigan’s pursuit of a shutdown if elected.
Spokespeople for Democratic candidate Eli Savit did not respond to questions about his stance on Line 5.
The U.S. Senate race between Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers could also affect Line 5.
While Congress members don’t directly oversee the pipeline, they have repeatedly used legislation and public pressure to influence its future. For example, Republican U.S. Reps. Tim Walberg, John Moolenaar and Jack Bergman introduced a bill last year that would bar future presidents from shutting down Line 5, while a Democratic contingent led by US Rep. Debbie Dingell publicly pushed for a temporary shutdown after Line 5 sustained damage in 2020.
In a statement to Bridge Michigan, El-Sayed called for “a responsible shutdown of Line 5 in its current form.” He stopped short of endorsing or condemning the tunnel proposal, but called for a more robust environmental review than the one the Trump administration “rammed through.”
Spokespeople for Rogers did not respond to questions from Bridge, but he has previously expressed support for the tunnel project.
This reporting is made possible by the Northern Michigan Journalism Collaborative, led by Bridge Michigan and Interlochen Public Radio, and funded by Press Forward Northern Michigan.
