Page 11 - NorthAmOil Week 48 2020

NorthAmOil PIPELINES & TRANSPORT NorthAmOil

Fight over Enbridge’s Line 5 intensifies as

Line 3 replacement receives final permit

NORTH AMERICA THE fight over Enbridge’s Line 5 has intensified
in recent weeks, as Michigan Governor Gretchen
Whitmer ordered the company to shut down the
pipeline. Last week, Enbridge filed a legal chal-
lenge against the shutdown order, accusing the
state of overstepping its bounds.
And this week, local media reported that the
Michigan Department of Environment, Great
Lakes and Energy (EGLE) was extending its
review of Enbridge’s permit applications to build
a utility tunnel and house a new section of Line 5
under the Straits of Mackinac. The department
is now planning to issue a decision in January participation and state agency input related to
2021. these permit applications, we thought it reason-
On November 13, Whitmer’s office and the able to request an extension from the applicant
Michigan Department of Natural Resources and they agreed,” an EGLE spokesman, Scott
(DNR) revoked an easement granted to Dean, told local media this week.
Enbridge in 1953 allowing the company to oper- The EGLE is debating whether to grant a
ate the twin section of Line 5 in the Straits of National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
Mackinac. They cited repeated violations of the System Wastewater permit, which would
easement, as well as the need to protect the Great be required for construction of the tunnel.
Lakes, and ordered Enbridge to cease operation Enbridge has also requested a permit from the
in the Straits by May 2021. On November 24, department involving the impact on potential
Enbridge launched its legal challenge against wetlands. The company needs to obtain numer-
the order, arguing that Line 5 was under the sole ous other permits before the project can go
regulatory jurisdiction of the US Pipeline and ahead, including approval to “site” the pipeline
Hazardous Materials Safety Administration from the Michigan Public Service Commission
(PHMSA). (MPSC). A decision on that permit is expected
“This is the latest attempt by the state of Mich- in the summer of 2021.
igan to interfere with the operation of this criti-
cal infrastructure by assuming authority it does Line 3 news
not possess,” the company said in a statement. In separate – and better – news for Enbridge, reg-
In an effort to emphasise that it believes this ulators in Minnesota have issued the final permit
should be a federal matter, Enbridge filed its case required for the Line 3 replacement to cross the
in US District Court in Grand Rapids, Michi- northern part of the state. Construction there
Enbridge is in gan, also submitting a notice seeking to transfer can now begin on the long-delayed replacement
the state’s lawsuit to the federal court.
project.
the process of Whitmer’s office has argued that the 1953 On November 30, it was reported that the
seeking state and easement was wrongly granted, and has raised Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA)
had granted a construction storm water permit
concerns over the safety of the underwater sec-
federal permits tion of the pipeline, which carries oil and natural for the project, which was the last hurdle that
gas liquids (NGLs) from Wisconsin to Ontario. Enbridge needed to clear for the project to go
for the Line 5 Enbridge, for its part, contends that the twin ahead. This comes after years of reviews and
pipes in the Straits are in good condition and court battles on replacing Line 3, which car-
tunnel. have never leaked. Nonetheless, the company ries oil from Alberta to the US, crossing North
is seeking to run a new section of the pipeline Dakota and Minnesota before terminating in
through a tunnel that would be built beneath the Wisconsin.
bottom of the lake. The US Army Corps of Engineers and the
Enbridge is in the process of seeking state Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC)
and federal permits for the Line 5 tunnel, but granted their final approvals for the project last
the project has proved controversial, attracting week.
local and environmental opposition even as it Enbridge had notified landowners along
has drawn support from labour and industry the route via letters earlier in November that it
groups. This process is now being drawn out, expected construction to start around Novem-
with the EGLE saying this week that it needs ber 30. It had previously said it anticipated the
to review around 3,200 public comments it work taking about nine months. Work on the
received on the application. pipeline in Canada, North Dakota and Wiscon-
“Given the significant amount of public sin is already complete.™

Week 48 03•December•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P11