Line 5: Michigan judge agrees with Enbridge

Governor Whitmer has been trying to stop this project since November 2020. She fears possible leaks in the Strait of Mackinac, where the pipeline would pass. (Photo: The Canadian Press)

WASHINGTON — A Michigan judge has ruled in favor of Enbridge over its Line 5, the cross-border pipeline project opposed by state Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

In her decision, Judge Janet Neff says that this case must be decided by a US federal court.

This is the second time in nine months that Justice Neff has ruled in favor of Enbridge on a jurisdictional issue.

Governor Whitmer has been trying to stop this project since November 2020. She fears possible leaks in the Strait of Mackinac, where the pipeline would pass.

Proponents of the project, including the Canadian government, maintain that Line 5 is essential to the energy supply of Ontario, Quebec and several states in the American Midwest.

Environmentalists fear that a technical fault or an accident due to a ship’s anchor might cause a disaster in one of the most important basins in the region.