Federal court upholds Enbridge's Great Lakes spill plans

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Enbridge has produced legally acceptable plans for dealing with a potential spill from oil pipelines that cross a Michigan channel linking two of the Great Lakes, according to a federal appeals court.

A panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week overruled a district judge who had agreed with an environmental group that the pipeline company's plans failed to adequately consider potential harm to fish and wildlife in the Straits of Mackinac.

Enbridge, a Canadian company based in Calgary, Alberta, developed the strategy as required under the Clean Water Act in case of failure of its Line 5. The pipeline carries oil and natural gas liquids used in propane from Superior, Wisconsin, to Sarnia, Ontario.

A four-mile (6.4 kilometer) segment divides into two pipes that lie across the bottom of the straits, which connect Lakes Huron and Michigan.

Enbridge says the 67-year-old segment has never leaked and remains in good condition. But the company plans to build a replacement in a tunnel that would be drilled through bedrock beneath the straits.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is a critic of Line 5, which state Attorney General Dana Nessel is seeking to shut down in a lawsuit pending in state court. They agree with environmental groups that the pipelines pose unacceptable danger.

Enbridge submitted two spill response plans in the past five years, both approved by the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

The National Wildlife Federation sued, contending the agency failed to make sure that approving the plans would not jeopardize fish or wildlife listed under the Endangered Species Act.

Nor did the agency prepare an environmental impact statement as required under the National Environmental Policy Act, the...