The Keystone XL Pipeline cancellation is now having consequences for another pipeline. This one is in Michigan.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has given Canadian company Enbridge until May 21st to shut down a pipeline that carries petroleum products through the state. Line 5 runs from Port Huron to the large refineries in Ontario.
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce says that the shutdown just is not an option for Canada.
According to Aaron Henry, “This was a decision to revoke a historic easement that allows the pipeline to, essentially, travel across Canada and join between Lake Superior and Lake Huron. It feeds key hubs in Sarnia and in Quebec, and so, Gov. Whitmer of Michigan, in November, announced that easements would no longer be granted. The decision by Michigan demands that Enbridge stops operating Line 5 by May. That isn’t an option. While Michigan has taken this action, the issue here is about North American energy security.”
Gov. Whitmer says that the primary concern is the potential for ruptures if Great Lake freighters hit a line or drop an anchor on it. Enbridge has proposed trenching its line deeper into the lake bed and encasing that section in a cement sleeve.
Related:
Ag could be the answer for Keystone pipeline losses
Arkansas Attorney General on Keystone XL revocation
Canada calls Biden’s Keystone pipeline decision a ‘gut punch’