Enbridge OK to Pursue Line 5 Suit Against Michigan Governor (2)

Enbridge Inc. can continue with its lawsuit against Michigan officials to prevent the shutdown of the Line 5 oil and gas pipeline, the Sixth Circuit ruled Wednesday.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) and the director of the state’s Department of Natural Resources don’t have the immunity under the 11th Amendment that states enjoy from Enbridge’s claims, Judge Rachel S. Bloomekatz wrote. While the officials argue that the lawsuit is basically designed to curtail the state’s ability to control its land, the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit said the Canadian energy giant only wants an order that requires them to not interfere with Line 5’s operation.

“Accordingly, even if Enbridge received its requested relief, the State would retain the ability to regulate the submerged lands so long as its regulation did not violate federal law,” Bloomekatz wrote for herself and Judges Karen Nelson Moore and Raymond M. Kethledge.

The suit is one of many the Canadian energy giant is litigating involving Line 5, which supplies propane to Michigan homes and light crude to refineries in the Midwest and Ontario. It sued Whitmer to block her efforts to shut down the aging 645-mile pipeline after her administration in 2020 ordered the company to cease operating a four-mile segment where it crosses the Straits of Mackinac, where Lakes Michigan and Huron connect, because of the environmental threat.

A US District Court for the Western District of Michigan judge last July denied the state’s dismissal request, which the state appealed.

Enbridge argued this lawsuit is merely to prohibit Michigan officials from violating federal law. The state officials, however, argued that control of submerged lands is at stake.

They also said Enbridge’s claim fails because it prohibits federal lawsuits that seek to force a state to hold up its end of the bargain under a contract. But Bloomekatz, a Biden appointee, said this argument fails “because it ignores the legal basis of Enbridge’s claims.”

The lawsuit is one of several over Line 5 making their way through state and federal courts. The ruling also comes after the US Army Corps of Engineers said it was fast-tracking a permit needed by Enbridge to build a tunnel to replace the disputed four-mile segment.

“We will continue to protect and defend Line 5’s continued operations consistent with federal law, interstate commerce, and international treaty agreements, all of which recognize the critical role Line 5 plays in providing for the region’s energy needs and its economic strength,” Enbridge said in a statement following the ruling.

Representatives of Whitmer and state Attorney General Dana Nessel (D) didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Enbridge is represented by Steptoe LLP, John J. Bursch of Caledonia, Mich., and Dickinson Wright PLLC. The state defendants are represented by the state Department of Attorney General.

The case is Enbridge Energy LP v. Whitmer, 6th Cir., No. 24-1608, 4/23/25.