Attorney General Dana Nessel this week announced a preliminary injunction against Enbridge Energy to temporarily shut down the Line 5 oil pipeline.
The announcement came after Enbridge reported “significant damage” to one of its two pipelines running beneath the straits of Mackinac.
Nessel spoke with Ben Thorp about the injunction and what’s next for the oil pipeline.
Thorp: We are now nearly a week out from when the state was first alerted of significant damage to the eastern portion of the Line 5 pipeline. What do we know about what caused that damage to the eastern portion of the line?
Nessel: Nothing. Absolutely nothing. That is why we feel it is so important that the court grant our relief and we get at least a temporary shutdown of both legs of the line. We don’t know what happened, we don’t know why it happened, and we don’t know when it happened. All we know is there is substantial damage that has been done to the structural integrity of at least the support area of a part of the pipeline not to mention there is other damage that has been discovered in terms of the protective coating. And this is only one of the multiple instances that we’ve seen happen in recent years. What is so concerning to us is Enbridge has unilaterally decided it is safe for them to reopen without any explanation at all of what has possibly occurred and understanding that at any time we are feet or moments away from what could be the biggest oil spill in American history. It’s very concerning to us.
Thorp: Enbridge is currently deferring to its federal regulator, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, and saying it can continue to operate the western part of the line because they have no objection to that plan. That’s despite a request from the Governor and your preliminary injunction. What’s your response to that?
Nessel: I find Enbridge’s response to be incredibly arrogant and very dismissive to the state of Michigan. To say that as long as PHMSA or the EPA doesn’t object to our operation we could care less what the state of Michigan has to say, we don’t care about what the Governor says, we don’t care about what the Attorney General says, we are going to operate irrespective of what you think about our ability to operate. What is so scary to us is we have no idea what the federal authorities did in terms of evaluating whether or not it was safe for them to continue to operate. Remember, this easement is with the State of Michigan. It’s not with the feds, it’s with the State of Michigan. The only reason why Enbridge can operate Line 5 under the Straits of Mackinac to begin with is because the State of Michigan provided this easement and now they are saying we don’t care what the State of Michigan thinks about the operation of this line and we don’t care about the safety and security of this line. We’re going to keep it open whether you like it or not and you have nothing to say about it.
Thorp: That brings me to my next question which is does the Governor have the power to revoke Enbridge’s 1953 easement and permanently shut down the pipeline and should she take that step?
Nessel: Yes and Yes.
Thorp: I talked to a couple of environmental groups, especially on Monday, who say listen there is a long history of violations here, now is the time, the Governor has run on this issue, what’s the hold-up? Can you speak to that?
Nessel: I honestly can’t and I think that’s a good question to ask the Governor and her team. All I can say on my behalf is I ran on shutting down Line 5. I believed it presented a clear and present danger to us in the state of Michigan and that the devastation both in regards to our natural resources and our economic wellbeing we would never recover in the event that there was a rupture of Line 5. I would do everything in my power to ensure our state was protected against such a catastrophic disaster. I’m continuing to keep that pledge and to do everything I can to make sure we don’t see what could be the biggest oil spill in history occur in the Straits of Mackinac.
Thorp: Thank you for taking the time, have a good rest of your day.
Nessel: Take care, bye-bye.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer declined to comment on whether she will revoke Enbridge’s 1953 easement.
You can listen to the full interview below: