Ingham Circuit Judge James Jamo Thursday ordered Enbridge to fully shut down the Line 5 pipeline at the bottom of the Mackinac Straits within 24 hours.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel requested the shutdown after Enbridge reported damage to an anchor support.
Enbridge discovered the damage on an anchor support on the eastern stretch of the dual pipelines, and notified the state on June 18. The pipeline was shut down while the situation was investigated. After the state was informed, Governor Gretchen Whitmer requested Enbridge keep the pipeline shut down until they provided the state with details of how the damage occurred.
Nessel spokesman Ryan Jarvi says there are still a lot of questions about what happened.
“The cause of the damage is still unknown as far as I’m aware, and the risk to the state’s residents and natural resources is just too great to let that continue to be operated without knowing the answers.”
Jarvi says the ultimate goal is to have Line 5 permanently decommissioned.
“But, in the meantime, we’re just pleased that the judge saw the risk of operating the pipelines with so many unanswered questions that are still out there.”
Enbridge restarted the western stretch of the pipeline over the weekend, leading Attorney General Dana Nessel to seek a temporary restraining order against the company.
According to Jamo, Enbridge is "not in compliance with the 1953 easement that grants it authority to use the straits bottomlands for the pipeline." Further, Jamo wrote that Enbridge had not provided enough documentation regarding the damage to the state.
"Since the risk of harm to the Great Lakes and various communities and businesses that rely on the Great Lakes would be not only substantial but also in some respects irreparable, this court grants a temporary restraining order against the defendants' continued operation of the West Line until a hearing on the state's request for a preliminary injunction and further related court order," Jamo wrote.
The judge said in the order that the danger outweighs financial damage to Enbridge until the next hearing. That hearing will take place Tuesday.
Enbridge said in a statement that an extended shutdown would threaten reliable fuel supplies in Michigan and Ohio. The statement also says it would cause an increase in the cost of fuel.