Enbridge seeks to dismiss expert testimony warning of explosion risk for Line 5 tunnel
While Attorney General Dana Nessel and Enbridge prepare to once again battle it out in court over the fate of the company’s controversial, nearly 69-year-old Line 5 oil pipeline, a regulatory fight is also heating up over Enbridge’s plan to eventually replace a portion of the pipeline and enclose it in an underwater tunnel.
That fight right now centers around whether the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) should consider expert testimony that warns of a possible explosion under the Straits of Mackinac, which Enbridge is seeking to strike from the record.
The MPSC is one of three agencies charged with deciding Enbridge can build Line 5’s tunnel-encased replacement under the environmentally sensitive Straits. Since April 17, 2020, more than 950 documents have been filed in Enbridge’s contested case application before the three-member panel. An administrative law judge continues to rule on what will and will not be included in the final application.
Richard Kuprewicz is a chemical engineer with nearly 50 years in the oil and gas industry, whose background includes extensive work in emergency response and pipeline incident command. In his Dec. 14 expert testimony on behalf of the Bay Mills Indian Community (BMIC), Kuprewicz argues that the “inherent risks” associated with the tunnel project have been minimized by both Enbridge and the MPSC.
Read more: https://michiganadvance.com/2022/01/07/enbridge-seeks-to-dismiss-expert-testimony-warning-of-explosion-risk-for-line-5-tunnel/