Tag: Enbridge Line 5

FLOW Appeals MPSC Permit to Site Replacement Line 5 Pipeline in Proposed Great Lakes Tunnel

Published on January 4th, 2024 by - Blog Posts, News, Reports & Media Releases

Media Release: January 3, 2024

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Traverse City, Mich.— For Love of Water (FLOW), a Great Lakes water law and policy center, filed an appeal on December 22, 2023 with the Michigan Court of Appeals to overturn the Michigan Public Service Commission’s December 1 decision to approve the application from Canadian oil company Enbridge to relocate its twin Line 5 crude oil and natural gas liquids (NGLs) pipelines to a proposed new underground tunnel. Line 5 currently spans 4.5 miles on the lakebed floor of the Straits of Mackinac.

In its approval, the MPSC dismissed alternatives to routing Line 5 through the Straits. However, recent industry reports show that there are a range of commercially feasible and operationally viable alternatives to transport crude and NGLs in the event of a Line 5 shutdown. These alternatives include leveraging excess capacity in existing pipelines that do not run through the waters of the Great Lakes.

FLOW contends that the Commission’s decision to permit relocating Line 5 to a yet-to-be-approved tunnel violates the Michigan Environmental Protection Act (MEPA). MEPA requires all agencies to determine if a proposed project is likely to impact the air, water, and natural resources, or public trust in those resources, and to deny approval when, as here, there are feasible and prudent alternatives.

Multiple studies demonstrate that the North American energy market is flexible, adaptable, and resilient, and that Line 5 could be decommissioned without causing supply shortages or price spikes. It is clear that the region has the capacity for a planned and orderly transition to shut down Line 5 and to protect the Great Lakes – which comprise 95% of North America’s fresh surface water – from a catastrophic oil spill. Since 2017, large energy firms and refineries have developed contingency plans for a Line 5 shut down.

Enbridge has yet to obtain the required federal authorization from the US Army Corps of Engineers to construct this mega-infrastructure tunnel project. A final environmental impact statement is expected from the Army Corps in spring of 2026, following public meetings and comment period in 2025.

“Because the Snyder administration cut a deal in 2018 to let Enbridge continue to use the vulnerable dual pipelines in the Straits until a tunnel is built, the State unlawfully and prematurely gave the green-light to Enbridge to operate Line 5 for another 99 years,” James Olson, Sr. Legal Advisor and attorney for FLOW said. “This has poisoned decisions by state agencies, most recently the MPSC, to assume that they don’t have to consider the risks, effects, and alternatives to the continued operation of Line 5.”

FLOW, and other organizations and tribes who have appealed the Commission’s December 1 order will ask the Court of Appeals to overturn the decision and require the Commission to apply the rule of law under MEPA and consider feasible and prudent alternatives to the tunnel and reevaluate its improper, short-sighted commitment to this major piece of new fossil fuels infrastructure in the face of undeniable climate change impacts and risks.

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Contact: Liz Kirkwood, Executive Director
Phone: (231) 944-1568
liz@flowforwater.org

Related:

December 1, 2023: Disgraceful: MPSC Approves Permit for Enbridge Tunnel in the Straits of Mackinac; Breaches Legal Duty to Protect Michigan’s Natural Resources

November 17, 2023: What happens when Line 5 is shut down? A report on energy market impacts

March 16, 2022: FLOW to Michigan Public Service Commission: No Enbridge Oil Tunnel Without Authorization Under Public Trust Doctrine

Disgraceful: MPSC Approves Permit for Enbridge Tunnel in the Straits of Mackinac; Breaches Legal Duty to Protect Michigan’s Natural Resources

Published on December 1st, 2023 by - Blog Posts, Reports & Media Releases

Traverse City, Mich. — FLOW is shocked that the collective efforts of thousands of Michiganders and treaty-protected tribes to protect our waters from the catastrophic risks of Line 5 have been ignored in today’s decision by the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) to grant authorization for a Line 5 tunnel. The Straits are no safer while an unprecedented tunnel perpetuates the threat of an explosion spilling oil and gas into these ecologically fragile and economically vital waters.

In the same week that Governor Whitmer signed into law a nationally significant climate bill to decarbonize 100% of Michigan’s electricity production by 2040, today’s ruling is a black mark on the administration’s climate record and a disgrace to all of Michigan. A Line 5 tunnel with a 99-year lease will be an embarrassing albatross, hobbling future efforts to transition the region off fossil fuels and imprudently burdening taxpayers.

The Commission’s approval of a tunnel and 99-year new crude oil and natural gas liquids pipeline betrays its perpetual and solemn public trust responsibility as the sworn guardians of the public rights of citizens in the Great Lakes. This is not a “just transition” but a craven capitulation to fossil fuel profits.

Three years ago, FLOW intervened as a party before the MPSC in Enbridge’s proceeding seeking approval of a pipeline tunnel under the Straits. FLOW legal advisors Jim Olson and Skip Pruss have represented the public’s interest in the Great Lakes and Michigan’s priceless ecosystem. Enbridge has not received authorization from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy to occupy state-owned bottomlands under the Great Lakes Submerged Lands Act, 324.32502-32508 and rules. Nor has the Department of Natural Resources made the required public trust findings to authorize a public-utility easement under Act 10, now MCL 324.2129. Without such authorization, Enbridge does not have a “legal warrant” to occupy state-owned bottomlands. See Obrecht v. Nat’l Gypsum Co., 361 Mich. 399, 416 (1960).

The authorization breaches the MPSC’s legal duty to prevent likely degradation of Michigan’s air, water, natural resources, and public health—including drinking water, fishing, sanitation, boating and recreation—under Michigan’s environmental protection laws and the mandates under article 4, section 52 of Michigan’s Constitution.

Michigan environmental law prohibits the Commission from authorizing a pipeline when, according to the recent PLG Consulting report, reasonable, practical, feasible, and prudent, and affordable alternatives exist, and environmental damage is likely. The Michigan Environmental Protection Act expressly states that under these circumstances, a permit or approval “shall not be authorized.”

FLOW Founder and veteran Michigan environmental lawyer Jim Olson said: “There is no justification, morally or legally, for a new crude oil pipeline and tunnel that will last into the days of our great-great-grandchildren. When they look back at us, what kind of ancestors will they see?”

This fight is not over, and FLOW will be there.

FLOW’s Technical Questions for the Mackinac Straits Corridor Authority

Published on August 22nd, 2023 by - Blog Posts

The Mackinac Straits Corridor Authority (MSCA) is a three-member panel that is responsible for overseeing Enbridge’s proposed pipeline tunnel project under the busy, environmentally sensitive Straits of Mackinac, pending all applicable permits and approvals.

In June 2023, FLOW submitted public comments to the MSCA, to help further public understanding of the purpose, need, and challenges associated with the present status of the tunnel project. For each question, FLOW has provided background information in order to contextualize the questions and illustrate the importance of providing critical project information so that stakeholders can be better informed.

The next meeting of the MSCA will be held on October 2, 2023 in St. Ignace.

Download FLOW’s letter to the MSCA (PDF)

Get the Facts on Line 5 with FLOW’s New, Updated Fact Sheet

Published on August 3rd, 2023 by - Blog Posts

Every day, Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline carries nearly 23 million gallons of oil and natural gas liquids (NGLs) from the oil sand fields in western Canada to refineries in Ontario, using the Straits of Mackinac as a high-risk shortcut. In FLOW’s new, updated Line 5 Fact Sheet, you’ll learn the latest on the pipeline, why the tunnel is a dangerous proposition, and what you can do to help get oil out of the Great Lakes.

Download the PDF

U.S. Army Corps to Limit Line 5 Tunnel Review

Published on July 27th, 2023 by - Blog Posts

“The US Army Corps of Engineers decision to exclude the cumulative impacts of the fossil fuels Line 5 will transport, climate concerns, and, remarkably, engineering concerns raised by experts as to the integrity of the tunnel, flies in the face of the Corps’ purpose and mission, the Biden Administration’s goals and policy, and public concern for the protection of Great Lakes waters.” – Liz Kirkwood, FLOW Executive Director

On this day in 2010: Enbridge Oil Spill in Kalamazoo River

Published on July 25th, 2023 by - Blog Posts

This week marks the unlucky 13th anniversary of one of the largest inland oil spills in U.S. history. On July 25, 2010, a pipeline operated by Enbridge – the same corporation operating the risky Line 5 in the Strait of Mackinac – burst and released dirty tar sands oil into Talmadge Creek, a tributary of the Kalamazoo River. Nearly forty miles of the Kalamazoo River were closed for cleanup until June 2012. Enbridge paid more than $177 million in penalties and was required to improve safety measures. The estimated cost of the cleanup was more than $1 billion.

Corrosion fatigue – poor maintenance by Enbridge – was cited as the underlying cause of the catastrophic breach by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board. NTSB Chair Deborah Hersman compared Enbridge’s inept handling of the spill to the Keystone Kops.

“Why didn’t they recognize what was happening, and what took so long?” she asked.

 

 

 

“The Strait Story” Line 5 Webinar

Published on July 17th, 2023 by - Blog Posts

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzO-NA-qjfw

Download the Line 5 Fact Sheet (PDF)

 

Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline is over 70 years old and remains a threat to the waters and people of the Great Lakes region.

On Wednesday, July 19 2023, FLOW and Oil & Water Don’t Mix presented a special live webinar, featuring a panel of experts on how Michigan, Wisconsin, and the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa are working together in the courts to shut down Line 5 and bring an end to Enbridge’s trespass on state, sovereign, and indigenous lands. We also discussed smart pipeline alternatives, how organizations are working to avert an oil spill disaster, and answered audience questions.

Our expert panel:

  • Riyaz Kanji, founding member and Directing Attorney of Kanji & Katzen and attorney for the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.
  • Christopher Clark, Supervising Senior Attorney, Earthjustice – representing Bay Mills Indian Community
  • Sean McBrearty, Campaign Coordinator, Oil & Water Don’t Mix and Legislative and Policy Director at Michigan Clean Water Action
  • Read full panelist bios.

Hosted by FLOW Executive Director Liz Kirkwood, and moderated by Senior Legal Advisor Skip Pruss.

This online webinar was supported in part by a grant award from the Mackinac Island Community Foundation’s Natural Resources and Preservation Fund.

 

FLOW Welcomes Court Order in Michigan Attorney General’s Case to Shut Down Line 5

Published on February 22nd, 2023 by - Blog Posts, News, Reports & Media Releases

Editor’s note: The following is a press statement from Zach Welcker, Legal Director of FLOW (For Love of Water), the Great Lakes law and policy center based in Traverse City, Michigan, in response to a federal district court’s certification on Tuesday of questions for interlocutory review by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. The decision comes in the case of Nessel v. Enbridge, filed by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel on June 27, 2019, in the Michigan Circuit Court for the County of Ingham, to shut down the Line 5 oil pipelines in the Great Lakes. Members of the media can reach Zach Welcker, FLOW Legal Director, at Zach@flowforwater.org or by cell at 231.620.7911.

“This is a welcome development in Attorney General Dana Nessel’s effort to return to state court her state-law claims seeking the shutdown of Enbridge’s dual oil pipelines on state-owned bottomlands in the Straits of Mackinac. FLOW credits her petition for mandamus—filed just two business days before the certification order—for prompting the federal district court to finally take action on a motion that the Attorney General filed more than five months ago.

“Although the district court’s order does not guarantee that the Sixth Circuit will agree to resolve the certified questions, we are hopeful that the Court will recognize that interlocutory review is necessary to protect the fundamental state rights that are undermined by the district court’s erroneous procedural and jurisdictional rulings. 

“The Attorney General’s extraordinary efforts to obtain appellate review before the right is available via direct appeal is a testament to her commitment to protect the Great Lakes—and our public rights to use and enjoy them—from being impaired by Enbridge, the same company that is responsible for the Kalamazoo River oil-spill disaster,” said FLOW Legal Director Zach Welcker 

“The Attorney General’s extraordinary efforts to obtain appellate review before the right is available via direct appeal is a testament to her commitment to protect the Great Lakes—and our public rights to use and enjoy them—from being impaired by Enbridge, the same company that is responsible for the Kalamazoo River oil-spill disaster.” 

Additional Resources:

Petition for Writ of Mandamus in Nessel v. Enbridge-2023-2-17 

Opinion and Order Granting Motion to Certify-Nessel v. Enbridge-2023-2-21

FLOW’s Line 5 Program

FLOW’s Line 5 News

“MI Propane Security Plan” Is the Right Plan at the Right Time for Michigan’s Energy Independence and Prosperity

Published on March 12th, 2021 by - Blog Posts, Reports & Media Releases

The following statement can be attributed to Liz Kirkwood, environmental attorney and executive director of FLOW (For Love of Water), the Great Lakes law and policy center based in Traverse City, in reaction to the Whitmer administration’s release today of a five-point propane security plan to aid Michigan residents after the dangerous Enbridge Line 5 pipeline is shut down.

Liz Kirkwood, Executive Director

“The MI Propane Security Plan is the right plan at the right time for Michigan’s energy independence and future prosperity. With state leadership, the propane supply and distribution system can continue to adjust to meet demand, particularly in the Upper Peninsula where about 18 percent of households heat with propane.

“It’s far too risky for residents and the State of Michigan to continue to rely on the dangerous and outdated Line 5 pipelines that cross the open waters of the Straits of Mackinac for their propane supply. Line 5 has failed at least 33 times since 1968, spilling more than 1.1 million gallons of oil in Michigan and Wisconsin. Line 5 is owned and operated by Enbridge, which caused the Kalamazoo River oil spill disaster in 2010—after providing reassurances to Congress just 10 days earlier of ‘almost instantaneous’ response to leaks in the Canadian company’s sprawling North American pipeline system.

“We cannot trust Enbridge to keep running Line 5 through the Great Lakes, 20% of the world’s supply of fresh surface water and the drinking water source relied on by 48 million Americans and Canadians, including about half of all Michigan residents.

“According to the State of Michigan, the MI Propane Security Plan addresses potential price gouging, invests in renewable energy, energy efficiency and electrification, encourages investments in alternatives to Line 5, ramps up propane storage infrastructure, and calls for more actions to avert any disruption of energy supply.”

Background on propane:

For more information, see FLOW’s Line 5 fact sheets and blogs:

FLOW Will Appeal Administrative Decision on Oil Tunnel and Pipeline that Ignores Critical Evidence on Climate, Public Need, and Looming Shutdown of Line 5

Published on February 23rd, 2021 by - Blog Posts, Reports & Media Releases

Photo by Barbara Brown.

Jim Olson, environmental attorney and senior legal advisor to FLOW (For Love of Water), the Great Lakes law and policy center based in Traverse City, reacts to a narrow ruling released today by an administrative law judge on Enbridge’s oil tunnel proposed for the Straits of Mackinac:

“Today’s ruling by Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Dennis W. Mack ignores the declining public need for oil as the U.S. and world finally reckon with the climate emergency, and it is blind to the fact that Gov. Whitmer has ordered the permanent shutdown of the Line 5 pipeline that the tunnel would contain this May.

“The State of Michigan will never reach a just and lawful decision on the proposed oil tunnel by agreeing with Enbridge to ignore critical evidence and treat a proposed oil tunnel meant to last 99 years as simply a maintenance-and-replacement project. The tunnel is a Trojan Horse designed to push billions of gallons of oil through the world’s largest system of freshwater lakes in an era of water crises hastened by climate change.

“As a permissive intervenor in the case, FLOW again plans to file an appeal with the Michigan Public Service Commission, as we did in November, along with other environmental and tribal interests. 

“The Michigan Environmental Protection Act (MEPA) enacted in 1970 was created to compel agencies like the MPSC to evaluate the cumulative environmental impacts and to examine alternatives to proposed projects. In the case at hand, MEPA requires the MPSC to examine the environmental, health, and climatic risks of the proposed tunnel and Line 5 pipeline. The greenhouse gas emissions from Line 5’s oil and natural gas liquids, at more than 57 million metric tons a year, is greater than the annual yield from the combined operation on the nation’s three largest coal plants.

“The law does not keep the MPSC frozen in time such that they can ignore these paramount issues.

“The State of Michigan has a perpetual duty as trustees under the Public Trust Doctrine to prevent unacceptable harm to the Great Lakes and the public’s right to use them, which led to the Governor’s and DNR’s November 13 order and lawsuit to revoke and terminate the easement allowing Line 5 to occupy the Straits of Mackinac. The ALJ rejected the argument that the Governor’s notice and revocation of the 1953 easement is a basis to evaluate the environmental effects of Line 5 or the consumption of the oil transported on the system under MEPA.”

Background: See FLOW’s ongoing coverage of the Michigan Public Service Commission review of the Enbridge oil pipeline tunnel proposed for the Straits of Mackinac here: