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AG Nessel: I’ll move to shut oil pipeline if talks fail

Posted at 11:49 AM, Apr 29, 2019
and last updated 2019-04-29 11:49:23-04

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan’s attorney general says she’ll move to shut down an oil pipeline in the Great Lakes if the governor can’t find a “swift and straightforward” resolution.

Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is open to allowing construction of tunnel beneath the lakebed to house a new segment of Line 5 in the channel where Lakes Huron and Michigan meet. But she has concerns her predecessor’s plan would keep the existing pipeline in the water too long.

During her campaign, Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel pledged to sue to close the pipeline — saying operator Enbridge has violated a state easement.

Nessel released a statement Monday saying if Whitmer’s ongoing talks to resolve the contentious issue fail, she’ll use “every resource available to our office” to shut the pipeline to protect the lakes.