LANSING, Mich. — Michigan's Attorney General, Dana Nessel, filed an amicus brief in Wisconsin federal court Wednesday in support of an emergency motion to shutdown Enbridge's Line 5.
Enbridge's Line 5 is a 645-mile pipeline used to transport oil from Western Canada into the Great Lakes region.
The pipeline, built in the 1950s, has been a source of concern for many environmental activists in recent years due to worries of the line rupturing.
An emergency motion to shutdown the pipeline was filed by the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians of the Bad River Reservation, which Nessel has issued her support of.
The emergency motion says that rising waters of the Bad River near Superior, Wisconsin have caused erosion on the banks, which the pipeline is situated near.
Just last year, the pipeline sat about 30 feet from the banks of the river, but due to erosion that distance is now much smaller. The emergency motion says that there are currently locations where the pipeline is only 11 feet from the water's edge.
The continued erosion could make the pipeline vulnerable to rupture from currents, debris and further erosion causing the pipeline to lose support in areas.
AG Nessel issued her brief in support of the emergency motion to shutdown Line 5.
“Lake Superior is a priceless natural and cultural resource and, like all the Great Lakes, it is vital to our way of life in Michigan,” Nessel said. “As Attorney General, I owe a duty to the people of Michigan to protect all of Michigan’s waters, not only for us today, but also for future generations. I will always do everything in my power to protect the Great Lakes from the threat posed by those who care more about their bottom line than about Michigan’s residents and natural resources.”
The brief asks the court to consider the impacts to the State of Michigan if there was a rupture.
Enbridge's Line 5 is situated along the the Bad River, about 16 miles upstream from Lake Superior. Any rupture at that location would dump oil and natural gas into the river and it would flow into Lake Superior.
Enbridge claims that Line 5 is built to last and "still exceeds today’s standards for pipeline safety. Built for an underwater environment, Line 5’s safe, reliable performance over more than 65 years is testament to its durability."
Clean Water Action, an environmental group, says that Line 5 has had major spills, including one near Crystal Falls where over 200,000 gallons of oil spilled causing a fire that burned for 36 hours and made 500 residents evacuate.
Nessel also filed a lawsuit in state court in June of 2019 to shut down the pipeline due to it being "a grave threat to Michigan and the Great Lakes."
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