Industry and labor groups have made recent court filings in support of the controversial 645-mile Enbridge pipeline known as Line 5, which flows beneath the Straits of Mackinac and serves Toledo-area refineries.
On Monday, a nine-member coalition that includes the American Petroleum Institute, the Association of Oil Pipe Lines, the National Association of Manufacturers, the National Propane Gas Association, and five other industry groups said in a news release they have filed a 16-page amicus brief in support of Line 5. It claims that a permanent shutdown of Line 5 “would deprive the entire region of much needed energy to stay warm, make products and fuel transportation.”
That statement came three days after the United Steelworkers union and North America’s Building Trades Unions announced last Friday they had filed a 15-page amicus brief.
Both were filed Feb. 1 with U.S. District Judge Janet Neff.
“The 645-mile pipeline supplies refineries, other businesses and residences throughout the region, including Toledo Refining Co., which employs about 350 members of USW Local 912,” the news releases states. “In addition to supporting workers at the Toledo refinery and hundreds of other jobs in the area, Line 5 is crucial to ensuring jet fuel supplies for carriers at Detroit Metropolitan Airport, heating oil for Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and other utility needs.”
Enbridge also issued a statement on Monday thanking them for their support and for the Canadian government for its “strong position on this issue.”
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who wants the pipeline to remain open, has taken issue with Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel over the matter.
Ms. Whitmer and Ms. Nessel are continuing to push for closure of Line 5, asserting that it is too much of a risk for the Great Lakes and the six quadrillion gallons of freshwater they hold. The pipeline’s future has been widely debated since a 2018 anchor strike dented a section of it that exists in Lake Michigan.
The two are attempting to stop Enbridge from proceeding with its plan to replace the aging pipeline with a new one, and encapsulate the portion of it passing through the Straits of Mackinac by building a tunnel beneath the lakebed.
Several environmental groups support the efforts being made by Ms. Whitmer and Ms. Nessel, as does an industry coalition representing breweries and other light businesses.
Line 5 carries crude oil and other products through the upper Midwest and parts of Canada.
United Steelworkers Local 912 President Justin Donley said in his group’s statement that Line 5 “is essential to both our environmental and economic future,” adding that people in Toledo and elsewhere “will benefit if the pipeline is allowed to continue operating.”
In December, the Steelworkers members delivered thousands of petition signatures to Ms. Whitmer’s office.
The United Steelworkers said it represents 850,000 workers employed in metals, mining, pulp and paper, rubber, chemicals, glass, auto supply, and the energy-producing industries, along with a growing number of workers in health care, public sector, higher education, tech, and service occupations.
First Published February 7, 2022, 11:27 p.m.
