(134th General Assembly)

(Amended Senate Resolution Number 41)

A resolution

To urge the Governor of the State of Michigan and the Director of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to make all efforts to keep Enbridge Line 5 operating.

Be it resolved by the Senate of the State of Ohio:

WHEREAS, Gretchen Whitmer is the Governor of Michigan, and Dan Eichinger is the Director of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources; and

WHEREAS, In 1953, the State of Michigan granted an easement to Lakehead Pipe Line Company, Inc., and its successors and assigns (hereinafter the 1953 Easement); and

WHEREAS, Enbridge is an energy delivery company, and successor to Lakehead Pipe Line Company, Inc.; and

WHEREAS, The 1953 Easement allowed the construction, operation, and maintenance of dual petroleum pipelines through the Straits of Mackinac; and

WHEREAS, Enbridge now maintains and operates the pipeline constructed pursuant to the 1953 Easement, known as the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline (hereinafter Line 5); and

WHEREAS, Line 5 supports Enbridge in providing the crude oil refined at PBF Energys Toledo Refining Co. plant and the BP-Husky Toledo Refinery, both in Oregon, Ohio; and

WHEREAS, PBF Energys Toledo Refining Co. employs 585 people and the BP-Husky Toledo Refinery employs 625 people; and

WHEREAS, The United States has lost substantial oil refining capacity due to COVID-19 and the loss of demand it created; and

WHEREAS, The closure of Line 5 will significantly impact operations at PBF Energy's Toledo Refining Co. plant and the BP-Husky Toledo Refinery, and could potentially close a refinery, leaving hundreds of hard-working Ohioans unemployed; and

WHEREAS, PBF Energy's Toledo Refining Co. plant and the BP-Husky Toledo Refinery engage contractors who employ hundreds more blue-collar workers for ongoing construction, safety upgrades, and maintenance upgrades; and

WHEREAS, The loss of additional oil refining capacity will leave the United State more dependent on foreign sources of refined oil products; and

WHEREAS, Enbridge has committed to a $500 million project to replace the current pipelines that run through the Straights of Mackinac with a new tunnel and line buried four hundred feet beneath the Straights; and

WHEREAS, Enbridge has committed to use steel made in the United States, pipe fabricated in the United States, and union labor for construction on the replacement project; now therefore be it

RESOLVED, That the Senate of the 134th General Assembly of the State of Ohio respectfully urges Governor Whitmer and Director Eichinger to work with Enbridge and other interested parties to keep Line 5 safely operating, to protect jobs, the economy, and national security; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Clerk of the Senate of the 134th General Assembly of the State of Ohio transmit duly authenticated copies of this resolution to the Governor of the State of Michigan, the Director of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, and the news media of Ohio and Michigan.

President _________________ of the Senate.

Adopted ____________________, 20____