, accusing the state of Michigan of dragging its heels to ensure the controversial cross-border pipeline remains in a state of legal limbo even as both countries contend with a looming energy crisis.
Gasoline prices have been spiking across the U.S. and Canada, a combination of production and supply-chain pressures created by the COVID-19 pandemic and exacerbated by bans on imports of Russian energy, part of the global effort to sanction Russia over its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.Line 5 pipeline needed amid Russian energy crackdown, Ottawa tells Michigan
The court dispute, however, has less to do with pipeline safety and environmental impact than it does with legal jurisdiction. Whitmer and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel have been trying to get the case heard in state court, while Calgary-based Enbridge has argued successfully that it belongs before a federal judge.
Their tactics suggest “state officials are trying to have their cake and eat it too,” the chambers argue in their latest filing. With the order still in place, Michigan regulators, as well as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, may be required to consider Enbridge’s applications for the tunnel project as if the original pipeline didn’t exist. Arguments to that effect have already been made before the Michigan Public Service Commission.