Federal Judge to Decide If a State Can Shut Down a Cross-Border Pipeline

Fresh nuts, bolts, and fittings are ready to be added to the east leg of the pipeline near St. Ignace as Enbridge prepares to test the east and west sides of the Line 5 pipeline under the Straits of Mackinac in Mackinaw City, Mich., on June 8, 2017. The Canadian Press/AP, Detroit News-Dale G. YoungA federal judge will determine within weeks what role states have in regulating pipelines, a ruling that could have profound implications for operators of more than 2.6 million miles of oil and gas pipelines in the United States—especially those within the 71 networks spanning the nation’s border with Canada.U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker heard oral arguments during an hour-long Nov. 12 hearing in his Grand Rapids, Michigan, courtroom on Calgary-based Enbridge Energy’s motion to dismiss Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s 2021 revocation of a 68-year-old easement needed to proceed with a $500 million upgrade to its Line 5 pipeline that spans the Straits of Mackinac as it crosses the Canada–U.S. border.