(WXYZ) — The White House confirmed Monday it is looking at the impact of a possible replacement of Enbridge's Line 5 Pipeline in Michigan.
White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre spoke during a briefing Monday and said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is preparing an impact statement on the construction of a replacement line for Line 5.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and others in the state want the Canadian line shut down.
The study, according to Jean-Pierre, will "help inform any additional action or position the U.S. will be taking on the replacement of Line 5." It's not clear when the study's results will come down, and a decision has not yet been made.
Line 5 moves about 23 million gallons of oil and natural gas liquids daily between Superior, Wisconsin, and Sarnia, Ontario, traversing parts of northern Michigan and Wisconsin.
A section of the pipeline runs on the bottom of the Straits of Mackinac, which connects lakes Huron and Michigan at the top of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel, both Democrats, say Line 5 is a grave threat to the Great Lakes and should be closed to prevent spills.
Last month, Canada invoked a treaty with the United States and asked a judge to suspend litigation over Michigan's effort to shut down a Great Lakes oil pipeline.
