MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court announced it will review whether Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s lawsuit seeking to shut down a section of an aging pipeline beneath a Great Lakes channel belongs in state court.

Nessel sued in state court in June 2019 seeking to void the easement that allows the Enbridge energy company to operate a 4.5-mile section of pipeline under the Straits of Mackinac, which link Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.

She won a restraining order shutting down the pipeline from Ingham County Judge James Jamo in June 2020, although Enbridge was allowed to continue operations after meeting safety requirements.

The company moved the lawsuit into federal court in 2021, arguing it affects American and Canadian trade. Yet a three-judge panel from the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sent the case back to Jamo in June 2024, finding that Enbridge missed a 30-day deadline to change jurisdictions.

Enbridge officials said in a statement that they were encouraged by the Supreme Court’s choice, noting that exceptions to the 30-day deadline exist.

Nessel spokesperson Kimberly Bush said the lawsuit belongs in a Michigan court. The attorney general’s lawyers have argued that the case invokes the public trust doctrine, a concept in state law holding that natural resources belong to the public.

The pipeline at issue, Line 5, has moved crude oil and natural gas liquids between Superior, Wis., and Sarnia, Ontario, since 1953. Concerns over the section beneath the straits rupturing and causing a catastrophic spill have been growing since 2017.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources revoked the straits easement for Line 5 in 2020. Enbridge has filed a separate federal lawsuit challenging the revocation.

The company is seeking permits to encase the section of pipeline beneath the straits in a protective tunnel. The Michigan Public Service Commission granted the relevant permits in 2023, but Enbridge still needs approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy.