Trending
MARQUETTE -- Gov. Gretchen Whitmer filed a response brief in Enbridge's lawsuit over the Line 5 dual pipelines, which sits on the lakebed in the Straits of Mackinac and transport oil through the Great Lakes.
Enbridge filed the lawsuit in 2020, after the Whitmer and the director of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources revoked Enbridge's easement. Whitmer's brief challenged Enbridge's claim that it can continue to pump oil through the Great Lakes regardless of what the State of Michigan says and reiterated that Line 5 constitutes an unparalleled risk to the public and the health of the Great Lakes.
"The Great Lakes power Michigan's economy, supply drinking water to millions and define our way of life," said Whitmer. "Protecting these natural treasures is a top priority."
The Great Lakes are home to 21% of the world's fresh surface water. The lakes supply drinking water for more than 40 million people and support a $9.3 trillion regional economy, including hundreds of thousands of jobs in Michigan.
In November 2020, Whitmer and Dan Eichinger, then-director of the DNR, notified Enbridge that they were revoking and terminating the 1953 easement. The easement had allowed Enbridge to transport petroleum and other products through the Straits of Mackinac.
Enbridge challenged the action in federal court, arguing that the state of Michigan, having once said "yes" in 1953 to running an oil pipeline through the Great Lakes, is forever bound by that decision.