Whitmer’s Plan To Kill The Michigan Pipeline Is ‘Colonial On Steroids’

Between draconian lockdowns and refusing to follow the science regarding updated Centers For Disease Control & Prevention mask-wearing guidelines, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has not been Michigan’s favorite.

Over the last week, there’s been coverage of the Colonial Pipeline cyber attack, which left the east coast particularly vulnerable to gas shortages. While Whitmer has campaigned on the promise to shut down the Enbridge Pipeline to Canada, she chose this week to order the shutdown. First, Biden shut down the Keystone Pipeline, and now this. You can always count on Democrats to use their political powers and make things worse.

Michigan state officials told the Canadian energy company to shut down the controversial oil and gas pipeline amid growing fears that a section of the pipeline, Line 5, is too dangerous to continue operation. Whitmer described the Line 5 pipeline as a “ticking time bomb” that could cause damage to the state’s environment if a spill occurs.

She has also cited the concerns of environmentalists and argued the liberal-based “climate change” line for closing down the seven-decade-old pipeline. She cited the company’s 2010 pipeline spill that flooded the Kalamazoo River, arguing that such a spill in the Great Lakes would be ‘catastrophic.’

“Oil and water don’t mix — especially when the latter involves the Great Lakes, the repository of more than 20 percent of the world’s freshwater. I’m taking every action I can to shut them down, to protect two Great Lakes and the jobs that depend on them,” Whitmer said.

Enbridge, however, has refused to comply with the orders, being that they have moved oil and natural gas through Michigan for nearly 67 years. They said they’ve never experienced a leak in the underwater section of Line 5 and that they are currently working to improve the safety of the pipeline. The Canadian Government even backed an Enbridge Case that was brought to the federal court over the threatened pipeline closure. The energy giant was given a May deadline back in November by Whitmer to shut down the pipeline.

If Enbridge didn’t meet the May 12 closure deadline, Whitmer said she would revoke the permit granted to Enbridge and even threatened to go after the company’s profits that are made after the deadline. Some have argued that the governor’s stance threatens to strain relations between Canada and the United States in an ever-growing feud of the politicized nature of pipelines.

The Detroit News called Whitmer “clueless” for ordering an energy company to shut down an oil and gas pipeline amid fuel shortage fears. They also argued that she was “indefensible” given what happened at the Colonial Pipeline and that her proposal was “ridiculously inadequate” and would cause infrastructure to “buckle” if her plan were put in motion. They also wrote that the governor’s threat to go after Enbridge’s profits may be a violation of federal law.

“The United States has a treaty with Canada forbidding either country from interfering with the cross-border transport of oil. For the good of Michigan and the rest of the country, the Biden administration should advise Whitmer that her actions are in violation of that pact and contrary to the best interests of the nation,” the editorial reads.

PBF Energy Spokesman Brendan Williams said that Whitmer’s attempt to shut down Line 5 would be “Colonial on steroids,” adding that the region would need 2,000 trucks a day to continuously make up for the severe gas shortage created by an involuntary shutdown of the pipeline.

“It would be devastating for the region. The volume of crude oil that moves through Line 5 is the equivalent of 40 percent of the crude capacity of regional refiners. That’s not going to come from anywhere else. If folks think that the gas lines and the pictures they saw from Colonial were bad, you’ll have that on steroids with the shut down of Line 5,” Williams said.

He also predicted immediate consumer cost impacts that would be “severely negative” and says that many refineries could shut down altogether, impacting the gasoline supply for drivers and truck drivers, jet fuel supply for the Detroit Metro airport, and propane supply for winter heat. He said it would be a “stranglehold” on the Midwestern economy at large.

Whitmer’s botched timing and liberal-based agenda to cut all gas and oil are destroying the middle class – one policy at a time. She doesn’t care if the move costs people’s jobs or causes gas and oil shortages (which could leave people stranded from being able to get food or receive medical attention). She has shown the state of Michigan time and time again that she only cares about herself. Libs don’t create anything other than economic hardship and lawlessness – all in the name of “climate change.”