Line 5: Where do we go from here?

With all the ongoing processes around the existing pipeline in court, and the oil tunnel proposal in several regulatory agencies, it can be easy to get confused about what our next steps are towards ending this threat to the Great Lakes for good. For ease of reference, we’re going to split this topic into the pieces concerning the existing pipeline, and pieces concerning the tunnel.

Existing Pipeline

There are currently two lawsuits that are in progress concerning the existing pipeline. On top of that, there are discussions about the future of the pipeline going on between the US Department of State and Canada over Canada’s invocation of a 1977 transit pipeline treaty that has never been used before.

Enbridge v Michigan is currently in the Western District of Michigan Federal Court. In this case, Enbridge is seeking to prohibit Michigan from enforcing the revocation of the 1953 easement that the state granted Enbridge to operate Line 5. Enbridge is moving for summary judgment; the state is moving for dismissal of the case. Both motions will be fully briefed this spring, and Judge Neff could rule at any point after that.

Nessel v Enbridge was filed in Ingham County Circuit Court in 2019, and recently Enbridge has sought to move this case to federal court. AG Nessel is seeking to remand this case to state court, and arguments on whether or not to remand to state court will be fully briefed by late March. If this case is returned to state court as it ought to be, it could potentially move quickly and result in the existing Line 5 pipeline being decommissioned.

Lastly, the US Department of State is in the early stages of talks with Canada over the future of Line 5. We are urging President Biden to protect our Great Lakes by rejecting Canada’s broad interpretation of the 1977 Treaty, and revoking the Presidential Permit for Line 5. You can sign our petition to President Biden here.

Line 5 Tunnel Scheme

Enbridge’s oil tunnel is still a long way from being approved, however critical steps in this process are coming up soon and there will be many opportunities for public engagement. The Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) is expected to rule on whether or not to approve the Line 5 oil tunnel this year. The contested case before MPSC will be fully briefed by mid-March and they could rule any time after that. We need Michigan residents to show up and comment at MPSC meetings starting on March 17th at 1 PM in Lansing. Comments can be made virtually during the meeting or in-person, and you can sign up at www.oilandwaterdontmix.org/join to be updated on future meetings as well.

The last process to happen concerning the Line 5 tunnel will be the Army Corps Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The EIS will likely take at least 2-3 years to complete and there will be several opportunities for public comment throughout the process. From what we know so far, this tunnel is very poorly planned, unnecessary, and could even cause an explosion either during or after construction. Further, Enbridge has asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to depreciate their entire pipeline system over a 20-year period. Why would they bother to take ten years and likely at least $2 billion to build an oil tunnel that would only be used for another decade before the entire pipeline system is worthless?

Enbridge has played their cards well, and we always knew that defeating one of the most powerful industries in the history of the world would not be easy. With sustained effort from Michigan residents who know the value of our Great Lakes, we will protect the Great Lakes from a catastrophic oil spill.

— Sean McBrearty, OWDM