Michigan governor seeks shutdown of Great Lakes oil pipeline

[Kyle]

Line 5 is part of Enbridge’s Lakehead network of pipelines that carries oil from western Canada to refineries in the U.S. and Ontario

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. – Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer took legal action Friday to shut down a pipeline that carries oil beneath a channel that links two of the Great Lakes.

Whitmer’s office notified the Canadian company that it was revoking an easement granted in 1953 to extend a roughly 4-mile (6.4-kilometer) section of the pipeline through the Straits of Mackinac. The revocation will take effect within 180 days, at which point the flow of oil must stop.

Michigan governor seeks shutdown of Great Lakes oil pipeline

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer took legal action Friday to shut down a pipeline that carries oil beneath a channel that links two of the Great Lakes.

www.foxnews.com

 

[GURPS]

My 1st question is;

has there EVER Been a spill ?

 

[vraiblonde]

Dear Michigan: you people vote like sh^t.

 

[GURPS]

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Unveils Plans To Shut Down A 65-Year-Old Pipeline

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D) is working to shut down a 65-year-old pipeline that pumps oil from Canada into the United States. The 645-mile pipeline runs through the Great Lakes, where Lake Michigan and Lake Huron connect, something Whitmer believes can have a devastating environmental impact. The area of concern, for Whitmer, is the small stretch that runs through the waterways, known as Line 5.

“These oil pipelines in the Straits of Mackinac are a ticking timebomb, and their continued presence violates the public trust and poses a grave threat to Michigan’s environment and economy,” Whitmer’s office said in a statement, according to The Guardian.

According to international trade lawyer Lawrence Herman, Whitmer has no legal authority to revoke the pipeline. The deal was struck between the United States and Canada, not the state of Michigan and Canada. The 1977 Transit Pipelines Treaty, which both countries agreed to and Congress ratified, protects that agreement. Specifically, the treaty requires a 10-year notice before either party backs out of the deal, Herman explained.

“Regardless of what the state of Michigan may or may not want to do, the treaty is binding on the United States as a whole,” Herman told The Guardian.“It’s a matter between the two governments: Canada and the United States.”

Whitmer, and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, believe the legal challenges should be heard in a state court. That’s why back in November, Nessel filed a lawsuit “to reinforce the order in Ingham County Circuit Court,” Bridge Michigan reported. Enbridge, however, believes the case should be heard in a federal court.

 

[GURPS]

Gov. Whitmer offers propane plan for Upper Peninsula after Line 5 shutdown

• Find alternatives for propane delivery: Whitmer’s proposed 2022 budget includes $10 million for the Michigan Department of Transportation to invest in new rail infrastructure, $5 million to install propane storage at rail yards, and $100,000 for grants to local development organizations to develop alternative propane supply and delivery options. The state said it is also working with the propane industry to find other ways to deliver propane, “pre-buy” propane for next winter to lock in lower prices, and is developing a “strategic propane reserve” to prevent shortages if retailers’ supplies run low.
• Prevent price gouging, provide payment assistance: The Attorney General’s Corporate Oversight Division will handle complaints related to propane price gouging, and the administration has increased funding and restructured existing state programs to provide bill payment assistance to propane customers who can’t afford to pay their heating bills.
• Trigger market incentives: Whitmer’s order to shut down the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline “sent as clear a signal as possible to propane retailers and other propane suppliers, who are responding to this opportunity,” the governor’s release said. The plan cites recent purchases of the Upper Peninsula’s Kincheloe terminal and the Lower Peninsula’s Alto terminal as examples, and notes that some propane suppliers have begun to wean themselves off of Line 5 by using state grants to invest in rail facilities.
• Keep tabs on propane supply: The MPSC already does this, through a monitoring program that tracks state, regional and national energy supplies and maintains a plan for managing supplies and reducing propane demand.
• Boost energy efficiency: Drafty homes consume more fuel. To reduce demand for propane, the plan calls for using money in Whitmer’s proposed 2022 budget to help low-income homeowners renovate their homes to improve energy efficiency. The newly-established Michigan Propane Commission will levy a fee on propane sold in Michigan and use the proceeds on incentives and rebates aimed at boosting customers’ propane efficiency. Beyond that, Whitmer’s administration is looking for ways to meet residents’ heating needs through electric heat powered by renewable energy.

 

[vraiblonde]

We were watching a documentary on Detroit last night and it's interesting that the community seems to be quite involved, and yet they still vote like chit. They go to the council meetings and attend the public forums, rail against their city's leadership and how it's hurting them.....then turn right around and re-elect that person.

So they're not completely ignorant. They know what's going on and who is responsible. Yet they keep voting for the people who are actively harming them.

It's fascinating and I don't really understand the mentality behind it. Is it the beaten wife syndrome where he kicks her ass but good, then comes back and apologizes so she takes him back only to get her ass kicked again a few days later, lather/rinse/repeat?

 

[ontheriver]

It's fascinating and I don't really understand the mentality behind it. Is it the beaten wife syndrome where he kicks her ass but good, then comes back and apologizes so she takes him back only to get her ass kicked again a few days later, lather/rinse/repeat?

Something like that. ^

 

[vraiblonde]

Something like that. ^

"I swear, baby, I've changed!"

 

[GURPS]

Sabotaging the Canadian-Michigan L5 Pipeline Would Create 'Colonial on Steroids'


Without proper authority, Michigan’s Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has forced the shutdown of the Line 5 Pipeline that links Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.

Operated by the Canadian company Enbridge, the Line 5 Pipeline has for more than 50 years provided essential energy infrastructure to the people of Michigan and the entire Great Lakes area. Whitmer ordered Enbridge to cease operating by May 12 or she would seize the company’s profits because the company was guilty of “trespassing” and “unjust enrichment.”

Beyond the fact that this is a violation of an international treaty with America’s closest and dearest ally, one has to wonder why any public official – even one as extreme as Whitmer – would continue pushing to close a pipeline now.