Group sues federal regulator over Mackinac Straits pipeline

The federal agency that regulates oil and gas pipelines in the U.S. is not following federal law as it allows Canadian oil transport company Enbridge to operate 63-year-old, underwater pipelines in the Straits of Mackinac, an environmental nonprofit states in a lawsuit filed against the agency Monday.

The National Wildlife Federation is suing the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, or PHMSA, the federal agency largely responsible for overseeing oil pipeline safety, asserting the agency illegally authorized the transport of oil through a pipeline that runs through Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, under the Great Lakes at the Straits of Mackinac, and through the state’s Lower Peninsula.

PHMSA and Enbridge officials did not immediately respond to Free Press inquiries seeking comment.

The Wildlife Federation is effectively asking the court to stop the transport of oil through the pipeline, known as Line 5, "until PHMSA complies with federal law."

“We are taking action today to protect people, communities, wildlife, and the Great Lakes from a potential oil disaster,” said Mike Shriberg, the National Wildlife Federation’s Great Lakes regional executive director, in a release. "The federal government needs to do its job in protecting the Great Lakes; that has not happened to date and, therefore, Line 5 should not be allowed to operate.”

According to the Wildlife Federation's lawsuit, PHMSA failed to assess impacts on the environment, including shorelines, beaches, fish and wildlife as required under the National Environmental Policy Act, as well as failed to assess impacts on endangered or threatened wildlife and plants as required under the Endangered Species Act during its 2013 approval of Enbridge’s emergency spill response plan. The lawsuit also asserts that PHMSA illegally approved plans for offshore portions of the Great Lakes pipeline — a power the Wildlife Federation believes resides outside the agency’s authority.

The Wildlife Federation is asking the court to set aside PHMSA's approval of the spill response plans for the portions of the pipeline under the Straits of Mackinac and other navigable waters in the state’s Upper and Lower Peninsulas. The nonprofit is also asking the court to order the federal regulator to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act.

The Wildlife Federation's lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan in Detroit.