Enbridge Energy plans to build a bigger oil pipeline across the state. The company says, not only will it be bigger and move more oil. They say it will also be safer than the line that broke in 2010.
The Michigan Public Service Commission approved the first phase of the project last May, but some landowners have sued. They say they weren’t properly notified that the construction work could force them to give up more land. And that Enbridge could remove more trees.
Enbridge asked the Court of Appeals to drop that lawsuit, but this week, the court denied that request, and the case will go forward.
Katy Bodenmiller owns land with an easement for the oil pipeline.
She’s not a plaintiff in the lawsuit, but Bodenmiller says the court’s decision to let the case go forward feels like a small victory.
"I think at the very least in the absence of leadership on this issue in this state from our public officials, this suit can perhaps force Enbridge to answer some questions that they have up to this point been able to side step," said Bodenmiller.
The lawyer representing the landowners in the case, Gary Field, says the court’s decision will give homeowners an opportunity to have their say.
An Enbridge spokesman says this case might not be decided until sometime next year. In the meantime, they’re moving forward with construction.
They say details of the project were laid out in their application to the Michigan Public Service Commission.
