Straits of Mackinac

LANSING, MI--   The Michigan Public Service Commission will hold an electronic public hearing on Aug. 24 to take input on Enbridge Energy LP’s request for siting authority of its plans to relocate a segment of the Line 5 pipeline to a tunnel beneath the Straits of Mackinac. 

Members of the public wishing to make comments are urged to register in advance because of the high number of people expected to participate. 

LANSING, MI (MPRN)--   A Michigan judge ruled Wednesday to keep a temporary restraining order against Enbridge in place while allowing the company to resume operations through the western leg of the Line 5 pipeline.

The order stops short of granting Attorney General Dana Nessel’s request for an injunction against the company, instead extending and modifying the existing restraining order.

Enbridge will be allowed to restart the western leg of Line 5 in order to conduct safety testing. The eastern portion will remain shut down.

TRAVERSE CITY, MI (AP)--   A Michigan regulatory agency has denied Enbridge's request for quick approval of its plan to put a replacement oil pipeline beneath a Great Lakes channel.

The state Public Service Commission on Tuesday voted to conduct a full review of Enbridge's proposal. Enbridge wants to extend the pipeline through a tunnel that would be drilled beneath the Straits of Mackinac, connecting Lakes Huron and Michigan. It would replace dual Line 5 pipes that lie on the bottom of the straits.

LANSING, MI (AP)--   Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says she is demanding answers from Enbridge Energy on what caused the damage that led to the shutdown of an oil pipeline located under the Straits of Mackinac. 

Whitmer says Enbridge informed state officials on Thursday that an anchor support on one of the dual pipelines under the strait had been significantly damaged.

Whitmer said Friday the information has raised many questions on how the damage occurred and whether the straits are threatened as a result.

TRAVERSE CITY, MI (AP)--   A federal court has sided with pipeline company Enbridge in a dispute over plans to deal with a potential oil spill in the Straits of Mackinac.

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week overruled a judge who had found that a federal agency wrongly approved Enbridge's plans. The judge agreed with the National Wildlife Federation that the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration should have considered risks to endangered species and required an environmental impact statement.

MACKINAW CITY, MI (AP)--   Officials say a 200-foot-long broken boring pipe remains embedded in the Straits of Mackinac and may not be recoverable by a company that operates a fuel pipeline.

Enbridge Inc. retrieved a broken 45-foot rod in December and told state regulators that a pipe of similar length remained. But the Detroit Free Press reports that the leftover pipe actually is 200 feet long.

TRAVERSE CITY, MI (AP)--   Michigan officials are demanding an extensive set of records from Enbridge as they investigate the company's oil pipeline beneath a Great Lakes waterway.

MOUNT PLEASANT, MI (MPRN)--   A new report says Enbridge Energy may have misrepresented its ability to pay for a Line 5 oil spill. 

While working with the Snyder Administration Enbridge agreed to cover up to $1.8 billion in the event of a Line 5 oil spill. 

Now a study, commissioned by the Attorney General’s office, which is involved in two lawsuits with Enbridge, finds the company may not be able to cover those costs. 

Kelly Rossman-McKinney is a spokesperson for the AG’s office.

TRAVERSE CITY, MI (AP)--   A Michigan judge has handed a victory to a company seeking to build a tunnel that would house a Great Lakes oil pipeline. 

Judge Michael Kelly of the Michigan Court of Claims ruled Thursday that the state Legislature did not violate the Michigan Constitution last year by approving a deal between former Republican Gov. Rick Snyder and Enbridge Inc.

TRAVERSE CITY, MI (AP)--   Enbridge says it has begun installing steel supports on its Line 5 oil pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac, where erosion has created a gap between the line and the lake bottom. 

The Canadian company based in Calgary, Alberta, said Tuesday it had received a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to install 54 supports along the Line 5 pipe in the waterway connecting Lakes Huron and Michigan.