Biden administration considering shutting down another pipeline

The Biden Administration is considering shutting down a Michigan oil pipeline despite warnings from Republican lawmakers who believe the move would result in fuel price shocks throughout the Midwest.

The administration is exploring the possibility of terminating the Line 5 pipeline – which links Superior, Wisconsin, with Sarnia, Ontario – and gathering data to determine if shutting down the line will cause a surge in fuel pricing, according to published reports.

In a letter dated Thursday, 13 Congress members – led by Ohio Rep. Bob Latta – urged the president to keep the oil line in operation, saying: ‘Line 5 is essential to the lifeblood of the Midwest.’ 

‘Should this pipeline be shut down, tens of thousands of jobs would be lost across Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, and the region; billions of dollars in economic activity would be in jeopardy; and the environment would be at greater risk due to additional trucks operating on roadways and railroads carrying hazardous materials,’ the legislators wrote.

‘Furthermore, as we enter the winter months and temperatures drop across the Midwest, the termination of Line 5 will undoubtedly further exacerbate shortages and price increases in home heating fuels like natural gas and propane at a time when Americans are already facing rapidly rising energy prices, steep home heating costs, global supply shortages, and skyrocketing gas prices.’ 

Line 5 is part of a network that moves crude oil and other petroleum products from western Canada to Escanaba, Michigan and transports approximately 540,000 barrels each day.

The pipeline is said to deliver vital products used to heat homes and businesses, fuel vehicles and power other North American industries. 

Those in favor of its operation allege shutting it down further exacerbate fuel shortages and price increases as citizens enter the winter months.

However, Energy Secretary and former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm argues that fuel prices are going to skyrocket this winter anyway.

‘Yeah, this is going to happen,’ Granholm told CNN on Sunday. ‘It will be more expensive this year than last year.’ 

‘We are in a slightly beneficial position, well certainly relative to Europe, because their choke hold of natural gas is very significant. But we have the same problem in fuels that the supply chains have, which is that the oil and gas companies are not flipping the switch as quickly as the demand requires.’ 

According to the lawmakers, the administration’s move to terminate Line 5’s operation is part of a move to ‘appease environmental groups’. 

Their claims are echoed by Jason Hayes, director of environmental policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, who alleges that Biden’s energy policies and work on Line 5 is ‘just one more example of being divorced from reality.’

‘They’re planning to power an industrial nation like the United States on solar panels and wind turbines,’ Hayes told Fox News.

‘I hope it doesn’t end like this, but where I see it going is unfortunately the same thing that happened in February in Texas: People freezing in their homes. 

He continued: ‘Most of the time when it’s extremely cold or there’s a real bad polar vortex situation, typically it’s pretty cloudy and there’s not a lot of wind.’ 

The energy expert also noted that production of solar panels and wind turbines still requires ‘oil, natural gas, nuclear and even coal’. 

Additionally, proponents of the pipeline allege that the negative impacts of its termination exceed access to fuel and energy prices. 

They claim its termination would ‘trigger an international spinoff’ with Canada.

‘The 1977 Transit Pipelines Treaty between the United States and Canada has ensured the uninterrupted transportation of energy products across the border for decades,’ Latta and his co-authors wrote.

‘Given the strained relations between our two countries brought on by the termination of the Keystone XL pipeline and the prolonged shutdown of cross-border travel due to COVID-19, now is not the time to worsen this critical diplomatic partnership.’

Biden’s Administration canceled the Keystone XL pipeline – which ran from Alberta, Canada to Steele City, Nebraska and carried 830,000 barrels of oil each day – in January. The controversial move prompted uproar, especially when the administration waived sanctions against a pipeline for Russia to ship energy to Germany. 

The legislators believe terminating Line 5 and breaking another treaty with Canada would ultimately be detrimental to the countries’ relationships. 

Meanwhile, all twelve of Michigan’s federally recognized tribes also called on the president last week, urging him to move forward with the state’s efforts to shutdown the pipeline.

‘The Governor, the Attorney General, and our Tribal Nations need your Administration’s help,’ the tribes wrote Friday in a letter obtained by the Detroit Metro Times. ‘… During your campaign, you promised that you would heed our concerns and act to protect our fundamental interests.’

Whitney Gravelle, president of Bay Mills Indian Community, argues that the tribes were promised the right to fish, hunt and gather in the Great Lakes Anishnaabe area in 1836 when they ceded the lands. 

The tribes also argues that their treaty supersedes the Canada agreement.

‘We possess rights and interests in the integrity of the Great Lakes that date back to time immemorial, and that are protected by solemn treaties with the United States long predating the agreement Canada rests on,’ the letter states. 

‘We view Line 5 as an existential threat to our treaty-protected rights, resources, and fundamental way of life as Anishinaabe people of the Great Lakes.’  

Sources say the Biden Administration has yet to make a decision regarding the operation of Line 5.