"A federal judge on Wednesday blocked Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer ‘s attempt to shut down an aging oil pipeline running beneath a channel linking two of the Great Lakes, finding that only the federal government can regulate interstate pipeline safety.
Whitmer, a Democrat, ordered regulators in 2020 to revoke an easement that allows Enbridge Inc. to operate a 4.5-mile (6.4) kilometer pipeline segment under the Straits of Mackinac, which link Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. Whitmer made the move out of concern that the 72-year-old pipeline could rupture and cause a catastrophic spill.
Enbridge filed a federal lawsuit seeking to block the revocation and the pipeline continues to operate. President Donald Trump’s administration argued in filings this year that Whitmer’s order interferes with U.S. foreign energy policy and that only the federal government, not the states, can regulate pipeline safety. The pipeline segment, known as Line 5, moves crude oil between Superior, Wisconsin, and Sarnia, Ontario.
U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker wrote in an opinion that revoking the easement would effectively shut down Line 5. He found that Congress expressly prohibited states from regulating interstate pipeline safety in the Pipeline Safety Act of 1992. He also noted that the United States and Canada agree that Michigan’s attempt to shut down the pipeline interferes with their federal foreign policy positions and trade relations."
Todd Richmond reports for the Associated Press December 17, 2025.
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