About five years ago, Enbridge Energy tried to get a court order to stop Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer from revoking an easement that allows the company to operate its Line Five pipeline in the state’s waters and send oil to Canada.
Michigan officials argued the pipe could leak and the state had the legal right to take action to protect the Great Lakes.
But Enbridge counters that federal safety regulations supersede the state’s role regarding the international pipeline.
The U.S. and Canadian governments have supported Enbridge’s position.
But the pipeline remains tangled in numerous court cases, including whether the company can get permits to build a tunnel to encase the line.
The U.S. Supreme Court will likely hear arguments next year about moving one Enbridge case from a state to a federal judge.
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