CALGARY,
AB and LANSING, Mich., May 12,
2021 /PRNewswire/ - The Government of Canada and entities representing hundreds of
thousands of businesses and workers from across the Great Lakes
region in the United States and
Canada demonstrated support for
Enbridge's case in federal court over the Line 5 easement in the
Straits of Mackinac by submitting
friend of the court briefs. Entities that submitted briefs
include:
- The Government of Canada
- Attorneys General of Ohio and
Louisiana
- Chambers of Commerce from the
U.S., Canada, Michigan and Ohio, along with the Wisconsin Manufacturers
and Commerce
- North America's Building
Trades Unions (NABTU) and the United Steelworkers of America,
AFL-CIO
"This broad support underscores that efforts by the State of Michigan to shutdown Line 5 have far
reaching and severe implications across the region and North America – well beyond Michigan's borders," said Vern Yu, Enbridge Executive Vice President and
President Liquids Pipelines.
The friend of the court briefs echo Enbridge's response to the
Michigan Attorney General's March
filing requesting that the State's easement case be heard in State
court. Enbridge made clear in its response that this case
belongs in federal court as any attempt to shut down Line 5 has
serious ramifications for the Transit Pipelines Treaty of 1977
between Canada and the United States and raises substantial
questions of federal law relating to interstate commerce and
federal jurisdiction on pipeline safety issues.
In its brief, the Government of Canada writes, "a shutdown of Line 5 would
cause certain, immediate and serious harm to several important
public interests. Economic prosperity and employment in
Alberta and Saskatchewan would be harmed if a key part of
their economies — hydrocarbon production — lost efficient and
reliable access to its main markets. Central Canada and parts of the northern
United States would lose
relatively safe, efficient and reliable access to fuel that is
essential to the Toronto and
Detroit Airports, to businesses that employ thousands of people in
Ontario, Quebec, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, and to the propane supply on
which many residents in Michigan
rely for heating and cooking."
In a display of unity and strong partnership, the chambers of
commerce of the Great Lakes region, along with Canada and the
United States joined together voicing extreme concern about
widespread, deep economic impacts a Line 5 shutdown would have on
the intertwined state, interstate and international energy
system.
"The proposed shutdown of Line 5 at the Straits of Mackinac would have a substantial negative
impact to their member businesses, their employees, and residents
of Canada and the United States, including those of
Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin, It would also
endanger a key public-private partnership designed to enhance
protections for the Great Lakes."
The friend of the court brief filed jointly by the
North America's Building Trades
Unions and the United Steelworkers of America, AFL-CIO
underscores that workers on both sides of the international border
will suffer the loss of jobs were Line 5 closed. According to
these Unions, "The operation and maintenance of Line 5 and its
associated industrial facilities provides thousands of members of
the Union with meaningful work and solid, middle class wages and
benefits. Shutting down Line 5 would threaten these workers'
financial security, both in the present economy and in the future.
And it would thwart the ability of the construction industry in the
affected areas to train the next generation of skilled crafts
workers."
The brief filed on behalf of the Attorneys General of
Ohio and Louisiana underscores that there are no
viable alternatives that can transport most of the Line 5 product
while also underscoring the devastating economic impact of a
forced closure of Line 5: "Shutting down Line 5 will have
enormous economic consequences—several billion dollars in
losses—for Toledo, Ohio and
beyond. And the industrial impact would be on a similar scale. A
cessation of Line 5 will reduce the gas, diesel, and jet fuel
supply in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Ontario, and Quebec by 14.7 million gallons per
day."
"Enbridge has a responsibility to the people of Michigan and the Great Lakes region, and will
continue to operate Line 5 safely, reliably and affordably to fuel
to the region's economies." said Yu.
Despite confirmation of Line 5's safety by PHMSA, its federal
regulator, Enbridge has supported the idea of a Great Lakes Tunnel
and is proceeding with its design and permit applications.
The tunnel would encase a replacement section of Line 5 at the
Straits of Mackinac and be
positioned well below the lakebed, eliminating the risk of any
anchor strike and virtually eliminating the potential of any
release from Line 5 into the Straits. The Great Lakes Tunnel
concept and the Mackinac Straits Corridor Authority enabling its
oversight passed the Michigan
legislature by overwhelming majorities in the House (74-34) and
Senate (25-12) in December 2018. Initial permits for the
tunnel project were approved by the Michigan Department of
Environment Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) on January 29, 2021.
Forward Looking Information
Forward-looking information, or forward-looking statements,
have been included in this news release to provide information
about Enbridge Inc. ("Enbridge" or the "Company") and its
subsidiaries and affiliates, including management's assessment of
Enbridge and its subsidiaries' future plans and operations. This
information may not be appropriate for other purposes.
Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such
as ''anticipate'', ''expect'', ''project'', ''estimate'',
''forecast'', ''plan'', ''intend'', ''target'', ''believe'',
"likely" and similar words suggesting future outcomes or statements
regarding an outlook. Forward-looking information or statements in
this news release include statements with respect to the Line 5
dual pipelines, including the impact of any shutdown and the
continued safe operations thereof, and the proposed Great Lakes
Tunnel Project, and related litigation and government and
regulatory actions.
Although Enbridge believes these forward-looking statements
are reasonable based on the information available on the date such
statements are made and processes used to prepare the information,
such statements are not guarantees of future performance and
readers are cautioned against placing undue reliance on
forward-looking statements. By their nature, these statements
involve a variety of assumptions, known and unknown risks and
uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results,
levels of activity and achievements to differ materially from those
expressed or implied by such statements. Assumptions regarding the
expected supply of and demand for crude oil, natural gas, NGL and
renewable energy, and the prices of these commodities, are material
to and underlie all forward-looking statements, as they may impact
current and future levels of demand for the Company's services.
Similarly, the COVID-19 pandemic, exchange rates, inflation and
interest rates impact the economies and business environments in
which the Company operates and may impact levels of demand for the
Company's services and cost of inputs and are therefore inherent in
all forward-looking statements. Due to the interdependencies and
correlation of these macroeconomic factors, the impact of any one
assumption on a forward-looking statement cannot be determined with
certainty. The most relevant assumptions associated with
forward-looking statements in this news release with regards to the
Line 5 dual pipelines and the Great Lakes Tunnel Project include
the impact of litigation and government and regulatory actions and
approvals on ongoing and future operations.
Enbridge's forward-looking statements are subject to risks
and uncertainties, including, but not limited to those risks and
uncertainties discussed in this news release and in the Company's
other filings with Canadian and United States securities
regulators. The impact of any one risk, uncertainty or factor on a
particular forward-looking statement is not determinable with
certainty as these are interdependent and Enbridge's future course
of action depends on management's assessment of all information
available at the relevant time. Except to the extent required by
applicable law, Enbridge assumes no obligation to publicly update
or revise any forward-looking statements made in this news release
or otherwise, whether as a result of new information, future events
or otherwise. All subsequent forward-looking statements, whether
written or oral, attributable to Enbridge or persons acting on the
Company's behalf, are expressly qualified in their entirety by
these cautionary statements.
About Enbridge Inc.
Enbridge Inc. is a leading North American energy
infrastructure company. We safely and reliably deliver the energy
people need and want to fuel quality of life. Our core businesses
include Liquids Pipelines, which transports approximately 25
percent of the crude oil produced in North America; Gas
Transmission and Midstream, which transports approximately 20
percent of the natural gas consumed in the U.S.; Gas Distribution
and Storage, which serves approximately 3.8 million retail
customers in Ontario and Quebec; and Renewable Power
Generation, which generates approximately 1,750 MW of net renewable
power in North America and Europe. The Company's
common shares trade on the Toronto and New
York stock exchanges under the symbol ENB. For more
information, visit www.enbridge.com.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE
CONTACT:
Media
Toll Free: (888) 992-0997
Email: media@enbridge.com
Investment Community
Toll Free: (800) 481-2804
Email: investor.relations@enbridge.com
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SOURCE Enbridge Inc.