Michigan drops oil pipeline suit, refocuses on separate case

By JOHN FLESHER
AP Environmental Writer

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is abandoning a lawsuit aimed at shutting down an oil pipeline that runs through part of the Great Lakes. But she says the state will continue pursuing a separate case with the same goal. Michigan and Enbridge Energy sued each other last year over the governor’s withdrawal of an easement that allows the company’s Line 5 to run through the Straits of Mackinac, where Lakes Michigan and Huron meet. On Tuesday, Whitmer dropped the state’s suit, although Enbridge’s case will remain in federal court. The governor said her action should enable a different suit seeking a Line 5 shutdown to move forward.