Canada is formally invoking a 1977 pipeline treaty with the US in a bid to forestall Michigan from turning off the faucets to Enbridge‘s Line 5 pipeline.
The dispute stems from a virtually year-old determination by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to revoke a 1953 easement to permit the pipeline to cross the Straits of Mackinac connecting Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.
Whitmer cited environmental issues concerning the impression a breach from the ageing pipeline would have within the space and gave Enbridge six months to shut it.
A U.S. federal courtroom ordered the 2 sides to barter, however Michigan stopped taking part in these talks in early September.
Canada’s lawyer Gordon Giffin says in a letter to a Michigan decide Monday that additional proceedings within the case ought to be halted as a result of Canada is invoking the dispute mechanism of the pipeline transit treaty.
The treaty is supposed to forestall both nation from unilaterally stopping or disrupting the transport of fossil fuels by way of pipelines that cross the U.S.-Canada border.
The treaty, designed to cease U.S. or Canadian public officers from impeding the circulate of oil in transit, has by no means been invoked earlier than.
Enbridge spokeswoman Tracy Larsson stated Michigan had let events know it’s not dedicated to additional mediation.
“We drastically respect the efforts of ‘Group Canada’ – from the Authorities of Canada to the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and Saskatchewan for his or her commitments and efforts to maintain Line 5 open,” she stated in an e mail to Reuters.
— with information from Reuters
© 2021 The Canadian Press
