
MI Officials take umbrage with Enbridge (They aren’t happy)
July 3, 2020
The Enbridge company reported damage to their Line 5, which is the pipe that runs 23 million gallons of oil per day through the Straits of Mackinac. After an investigation the Enbridge claimed the damage was a minor scrape that didn’t impact the integrity of the pipeline. The company had hoped to reopen the line ASAP because closure of the pipelines are causing them to lose nearly $1.8 million a day. Nobody wants to see businesses suffer at this time.
However, on June 19th Michigan officials stopped Enbridge’s efforts to restart operations unless they provided further information or allowed Michigan to conduct its own safety analysis. That’s when everything started to bog down into a “he said” “she said” kerfuffle. Enbridge attorney’s said MI officials weren’t being fair. MI officials were skittish to reopen the pipeline because of that spill back in 2010. So, things are at a standstill, for now. Both sides are filing lawsuits and everyone will have to wait and see how it shakes out. In the meantime, oil workers and those who need the energy will simply have to wait.