Attorney General Alan Wilson supports efforts to keep oil pipeline open and increase affordability for families

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) –Attorney General Alan Wilson joined an 18-state coalition supporting efforts to keep Enbridge Energy’s Line 5 pipeline operating through Michigan.

The coalition filed the friend-of-the-court brief asking the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold a lower court ruling that rejected Michigan’s attempt to shut down a portion of the pipeline at the Straits of Mackinac.

“At a time when affordability is the biggest concern for families, government’s goal should be cutting regulation, not creating more of it and driving prices up,” Attorney General Wilson stated. “Here, the interstate flow of natural resources is in the hands of Congress, not a singular state official that can hold an industry hostage.”

The Line 5 pipeline begins and ends in Canada and transports more than 20 million gallons of light crude oil and natural gas liquids each day. The pipeline helps supply fuel and other energy products to homes, businesses and industries in the United States and Canada.

Michigan officials have worked to close the underwater section of the pipeline that crosses the Straits of Mackinac. The states argue that the federal Pipeline Safety Act gives the federal government authority over pipeline safety and prevents individual states from unilaterally closing interstate or international pipelines.

Attorney General Wilson joined the West Virginia-led brief along with the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Utah.

You can read the brief here.