Company Defies Michigan Governor’s Order to Shut Down Oil Pipeline

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer listens to Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) in Clawson, Mich., on March 18, 2019. Paul Sancya/AP

A Canadian energy company has defied an order from Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to shut down a controversial oil and gas pipeline Wednesday amid growing concern that doing so could lead to fuel disruptions similar to those resulting from last week’s cyberattack on an East Coast system.

The Democratic governor gave Canadian pipeline company Enbridge until Wednesday to shut down Line 5, which runs under the Straits of Mackinac, amid fears that it could spill in a channel linking two of the Great Lakes.