Michigan's Democratic Governor, Grethcen Whitmer took action to shut down the Enbridge Line 5 oil and gas pipelines under the Mackinac Straits, which connects Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. The state informed the Canadian fosssil fuel giant that jthe 1953 easement was being revoked. It gave the company until May 1st to cease operations. Whitmer cited structural problems with the aging pipeline that the company has not addressed. That failure has "imposed on the people of Michigan an unacceptable risk of a catastrophic oil spill in the Great Lakes that could devastate our economy and way of life."
Enbridge has a history of environmental neglect. It was responsible for one of the largest inland spills in US history when one its pipes broke, fouling 38 miles of the Kalamazoo River. The spill took four years and more than $1 billion to clean up. The company settled with the EPA and DOJ for $177 million, including $62 million in penalties. The action to revoke Enbridge's easement drew praise from environmental activists, indigenous people, and politicians. Newly re-elected Senator Gary Peters (D) said a rupture of Line 5 in the Straits would be catastrophic, and have "long-term consequences to the economic and environmental health of Michigan and the Great Lakes", referring to the Kalamazoo River spill.