US: Michigan asks judge to shut Enbridge pipeline in Great Lakes

Michigan's attorney general on Monday asked a judge to shut down a pipeline in Great Lakes after an energy company discovered that anchor support had shifted deep below surface.

Enbridge Inc. insists Line 5 pipeline itself was t damd, and company resumed flow of oil and natural gas liquids in west leg of twin system Saturday. east line, where anchor support assembly had moved, remains closed in Straits of Mackinac.

But state attorneys said both should be turned off until an independent review is conducted. y asked for a restraining order and an injunction as part of ongoing litigation between Enbridge and Attorney General Dana Nessel, who wants Line 5 permanently shut down.

“Enbridge’s prevention and detection measures have failed to prevent or detect source of this dam, and that failure has created a risk of irreparable harm to Great Lakes,” state attorneys said.

re was immediate comment from Enbridge.

Line 5 carries oil and natural gas liquids used in propane from Superior, Wisconsin, to Sarnia, Ontario. A four-mile (6.4-kilometer) segment divides into two pipes that lie on bottom of straits, which connect Lake Huron and Lake Michigan between Michigan's Upper and Lower peninsulas.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Enbridge restarted west leg of Line 5 without sharing eugh information about incident. She called it a “brazen disregard for people of Michigan” and safety of Great Lakes.

Enbridge wants to ultimately put twin pipes in a tunnel to protect m. project was approved in 2018 before Whitmer and Nessel took office.

Line 5 delivers 65% of propane that heats Upper Peninsula homes and 55% of Michigan’s propane needs,

(Representative Im)