Talks between the State of Michigan and Enbridge Energy have been delayed.
The two parties have been in court-ordered mediation to discuss the future of Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac.
Enbridge and Michigan are engaged in a mess of legal battles. Governor Gretchen Whitmer ordered the shutdown of Line 5 last November and filed suit in a state court.
But Enbridge hasn’t complied with that order and filed a federal countersuit.
Federal judge Janet Neff ordered the two parties to hold meetings with a mediator, to try and reach an agreement before the cases are heard.
Enbridge and Michigan both expected talks to wrap up by the end of this month, but those talks have now been delayed.
A document filed this week doesn’t specify why their last meeting was cancelled, but now says mediation won’t be complete until at least the end of September.
When mediation is complete, there could be a better picture of what might happen with Line 5, or at least when and where the court cases will be heard.