Enbridge seeks federal jurisdiction in oil pipeline dispute

By JOHN FLESHER
AP Environmental Writer

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Enbridge Energy is trying to shift to federal court a Michigan lawsuit seeking shutdown of an oil pipeline that runs beneath a channel linking two of the Great Lakes. Attorney General Dana Nessel filed suit in 2019, arguing that Enbridge’s Line 5 should not operate in Michigan’s Straits of Mackinac because it risks a spill. Nessel filed a second suit in 2020 to enforce a shutdown order by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. A federal judge agreed with Enbridge last month that litigation over Whitmer’s order belongs in federal court. On Wednesday, Enbridge moved to shift Nessel’s earlier lawsuit to federal court as well. Nessel vowed to fight the effort.