Enbridge’s Attempt to Get into Federal Court Is Two Years Too Late

Since June 2019, Enbridge has agreed that  state court is the proper venue for litigating Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s lawsuit that seeks to shut down Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac under public trust and state environmental laws. That was until Wednesday, when the Canadian pipeline company filed a legal notice suddenly seeking to remove that lawsuit to federal court.

“The statutory deadline for removing this case to federal court passed over two years ago,” said Zach Welcker, Legal Director at FLOW, the Great Lakes law and policy center based in Traverse City. “Enbridge is making a frivolous argument that a federal court’s recent jurisdictional ruling in a separate case should give it another bite at the apple, but the apple is long gone as a matter of civil procedure.”

It’s yet another example of Enbridge, which is actively defying Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s lawful order to shut down Line 5, flouting the law.

“This is Enbridge’s most egregious delay tactic to date. We hope the court rejects this maneuver and quickly puts an end to Enbridge’s gamesmanship.,” said FLOW Executive Director Liz Kirkwood, an environmental attorney. “ Line 5 is a ticking time bomb that threatens the Great Lakes, shoreline communities, the drinking water supply, and thousands of jobs that depend on clean water and tourism.”

Background from FLOW:

• Key Context on Federal Lawsuit:
  • 30, 2021 – FLOW: State of Michigan Takes a Strategic Step Today in the Race to Prevent a ‘Line 5’ Oil Spill – FLOW
  • 16, 2021 — FLOW Deeply Disappointed in Court Decision Today Leaving State of Michigan’s Lawsuit to Shut Down ‘Line 5’ in Federal Court, Denying the State’s Request – FLOW
  • 25, 2020 — Enbridge’s Federal Lawsuit Attacks State Authority to Protect the Great Lakes from Line 5 – FLOW
• Recent Line 5 Analysis:
  • 3, 2021 — Line 5’s Clock is Ticking Ever Louder in the Great Lakes — FLOW
  • October 5, 2021 — Why Do Canadians Seem to Care So Little about Protecting the Great Lakes from Line 5? — FLOW
• State’s Line 5 Shutdown Deadline:
  • May 12, 2021 — Defying Today’s State Deadline to Shut Down Line 5, Enbridge Is Risking the Great Lakes and Privatizing the Public Trust – FLOW
• Reality Check:
  • June 23, 2021 — Remember When Line 5 Shut Down a Year Ago, and None of Enbridge’s Doomsaying Came True? – FLOW
  • June 2, 2021 — Fact Check: When Line 5 Shuts Down, Detroit Jets Will Still Fly and Union Refinery Jobs Will Still Exist – FLOW
• Whitmer’s Line 5 Shutdown Order & Reaction:
  • 25, 2020 — Enbridge’s Federal Lawsuit Attacks State Authority to Protect the Great Lakes from Line 5 – FLOW
  • 13, 2020 — FLOW Praises Gov. Whitmer for Upholding Public Trust Law on Line 5 by Revoking and Terminating Easement – FLOW

For more information, see FLOW’s Line 5 fact sheets and blogs:

• FLOW’s Program on Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac
• FLOW’s Line 5 Fact Sheets:
  • Updated Aug. 2, 2021 — Key Facts on Line 5 and the Proposed Oil Tunnel
  • Enbridge’s Line 5 in the Mackinac Straits Is Not Vital to Michigan’s Energy Economy
  • The Upper Peninsula Has Viable Options to Line 5 for Its Propane Supply and Economy
• FLOW’s Blog Coverage: Line 5 blogs providing news & analysis.