Line 5 Deadline Looms as Enbridge, Michigan Gov. Dig in Over Shutdown Threat | Columbus Ohio Dump Trucks

With a deadline looming, Canada is fighting against the closure of the Line 5 pipeline, a 68-year-old pipeline that carries crude oil and natural gas liquids through the Straits of Mackinac and Michigan's governor wants to shut down.

In November, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) announced she was revoking a permit that allows Calgary, Alb.-based multinational energy provider Enbridge, Inc. to operate the Michigan portion of the pipeline. A 4-mile section of Line 5 runs along the bottom of the straits between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.  

Citing concerns over the environmental damage a spill or leak would cause, Whitmer gave the Charlotte NC dump trucks company until May 12 to shut it down. 

“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,” she said at the time.

Whitmer alleged that Enbridge repeatedly violated the terms of a 1953 easement that allows for extension of the 4-mile portion of the pipeline through the straits by ignoring structural problems that put the lakes at risk.

The state specified two incidents in 2018 and 2019 in which the pipelines were struck and a coating designed to protect them was damaged by cables or anchors from boats.

Ryan Duffy, a spokesperson for Enbridge, said this week that the Charlotte NC dump trucks company has no intention of shutting the pipeline down.

“This matter is currently being litigated in federal court,” he said. “The parties are also engaged in mediation. Further, a treaty with Canada prohibits the state from taking unilateral action to close the pipelines.”

Although the state and Enbridge have been in negotiations, there is no word yet from Michigan on whether it has altered its position even as Canada has stepped into the fray and is voicing its support for uninterrupted operation of the line.  

Kirsten Hillman, Canada’s ambassador to the United States, said in an email that closing the pipeline would pose dire economic impacts for both sides of the border.

She said it would significantly impact six refineries in Ontario and Quebec, as well as the Sarnia Petrochemical Manufacturing complex and producers in Western Canada, and affect refineries in Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania that depend on the line for continued operations.

“The closure of one of these refineries (in the U.S.) alone would result in a loss of billions in annual economic output, with thousands of jobs potentially impacted,” she said.

She added that raw materials supplied by Line 5 are refined to produce 55% of Michigan’s propane needs, and is essential to the production of jet fuel for the Detroit airport. Residents of Michigan's Upper Peninsula rely on propane for home heating fuel, while the state's home energy generation mix is far more robust further south.

Hillman also asserted that rail and truck transport that would be needed in place of the pipeline would result in higher carbon dioxide emissions and transportation costs.  

Hillman said Canadian officials have had 10 meetings with top Biden Administration officials during which Line 5 was raised.

“In these meetings, we have highlighted the economic and energy security benefits to both countries of Line 5 — part of our wider integrated relationship — as well as the significant impacts that a shutdown of the line would have,” she said in her letter.

Duffy agreed that closing the pipeline would have severe economic impacts for Canada.

“What Line 5 supplies to Ontario and Quebec is critical for the economy and thousands of products Canadians rely on every day,” he said. “It also supplies Great Lakes region states with essential energy.”

Roger Gauthier, treasurer of the Straits of Mackinac Alliance, a citizens group in the U.S. that supports shutting down the pipeline, believes the potential economic impacts of a closure on Michigan have been overstated.

“The Canadian government, especially the provincial government of Ontario, needs to recognize the (environmental) risk that this outdated line will pose to its own constituents,” he said. “And clearly the issues of economic impacts of a shutdown of the line by Enbridge are grossly overstated.”

He also said most of the commodities transported in the line go to Canadian refineries for Canadian consumption.

“Very little of that has an impact on the energy needs of the state of Michigan and its constituents,” he said.

Enbridge's Duffy insists the pipeline is safe and the coating damage issue in July was simply proper maintenance.

“The federal safety regulator, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration, has consistently determined, as recently as 2020, that Line 5 is safe based on its review of extensive inspection data," he said.

Both Enbridge and Canadian officials favor a deal struck in 2018 with former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R), which allows for replacement of the pipeline’s underwater portion with a new segment that would be contained inside a tunnel to be drilled through bedrock beneath the straits.

Duffy said Enbridge is seeking the permits needed to build the $500-million Great Tunnel project which would included both lines and space for better regular maintenance as the tunnel is envisioned to be big enough for trucks to drive through.

“In the meantime, Line 5 must stay open,” he said. “It is a critical piece of North American energy infrastructure that benefits both Canada and the U.S.”

Hillman agreed.

“Given Canada’s commitment to and investment in the Great Lakes, it is our view that the proposed Great Lakes Tunnel Project will enhance the protection of these waters.”

Gov. Whitmer's office was contacted for this article but messages have not yet been returned regarding it.