Sarnia's mayor says a recent court ruling is yet another setback for Enbridge’s Line 5, warning that ongoing legal battles surrounding the aging pipeline continue to cast a shadow over local economic investment.
In a 6-1 decision on Friday, the Michigan Supreme Court ordered state regulators to reconsider a permit that allowed a planned tunnel to carry the 73-year-old pipeline under part of the Great Lakes to move ahead.
The court found the Michigan Public Service Commission's (PSC) decision was flawed because it did not consider whether the planned project would factually and proximately cause the continued operation of Line 5 and attendant environmental harms, inconsistently compared alternatives, and ignored impacts on public trust resources.
Mike Bradley called it a federal issue, and said he will be reaching out to Ottawa expressing his concern.
"Now there's a number of things in that decision that maybe should have been addressed by Enbridge but weren't," said Bradley. "Get those things addressed and let's get this thing on track because every time these cases pop up, it has a negative impact on investment here, and it has a negative impact on hope for the future."
The Calgary based company announced plans for the project in 2018 and first submitted its application in April 2020.
The 73-year-old pipeline, which runs between Superior, Wisconsin and Sarnia, carries up to 540,000 barrels a day of crude oil and natural gas liquids (NGLs) used in propane to industries in the city, as well as other parts of Ontario and Quebec.
Enbridge previously said the tunnel would be about 100 feet below the lakebed, and would take about four years to build.
Bradley said the supreme court's decision highlights the importance for an all Canadian pipeline, such as the recently announced Northern Shield Energy Corridor.
"It gives total Canadian control over the pipeline and it protects our sovereignty so this will never happen," said Bradley. "Who would have envisioned that we would end up with an administration like Trump's that would be so destructive to the relationship. Now, we need to have a new agenda to put in place protections for Canadians, and one is to build the Northern Shield pipeline so that 10, 20 or 30 years from now, we're not going to be held up by American administration on our own energy."
The proposed 3,300 kilometre route under review is from Hardisty, Alberta to Sarnia.
