Gretchen Whitmer Statement on Line 5 Announcement

Gretchen Whitmer Statement on Line 5 Announcement

LANSING, MICHIGAN — Today, Former Senate Democratic Leader and Ingham County Prosecutor Gretchen Whitmer released the following statement after Governor Rick Snyder announced an agreement with Enbridge Energy regarding the future of Line 5.

“These steps are a handful of belated half-measures that put far too much faith in a company that has consistently misled the public. This isn’t enough, and for the sake of the one million jobs that depend on the health of our Great Lakes, we must do everything in our power to protect them. That is why as Governor, I will immediately file to enjoin the easement and begin the legal process to decommission Line 5, and anything short of that is insincere.

Asking Enbridge for another study is about as effective as asking a fox to guard a hen house. Replacing a fraction of a 645-mile pipe under the St. Clair River means very little to someone whose job depends on the Great Lakes. And there’s no weather, including “sustained adverse weather,” that permits timely response to an oil spill. It’s time for Michigan to elect a Governor who has a real plan to get the oil out of the great lakes.”

In June, Whitmer called on Governor Snyder to enter Michigan into the bipartisan U.S. Climate Alliance when President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the climate agreement. The Governor responded, and did not enter Michigan into the U.S. Climate Alliance.

More than one million Michigan jobs in agriculture, fishing, and tourism are anchored on the Great Lakes. As Governor, Whitmer is committed to bringing everyone to the table to develop a long-term plan to get oil out of the Great Lakes and negotiate the shut-down of Line 5 without miring the state in lawsuits.