The Trump administration has sided with Canadian pipeline operator Enbridge in its legal battle against Michigan, filing a court statement last week that challenges the state’s efforts to shut down the Line 5 oil pipeline.
Enbridge has been locked in a long-running dispute with Michigan over the aging Line 5 pipeline, which ships 540,000 barrels per day of crude and refined products from Superior, Wisconsin, to Sarnia, Ontario.
The Calgary-based company is proposing to build a roughly 4-mile (6-km) tunnel for the pipeline, which crosses through the Straits of Mackinac in the Great Lakes.
The project faces opposition from Native American tribes and environmental groups, who fear it poses a risk to the Great Lakes.
Enbridge said in a statement that it remains confident in the Michigan Public Service Commission’s permitting process, which approved the tunnel project.
(Reporting by Amanda Stephenson in Calgary and Ismail Shakil in Ottawa; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)