Years ago, a state granted an easement to a pipeline company allowing the company to construct and operate a hydrocarbon pipeline. The company needed an easement from the state for the portion of the pipeline that ran below the surface of a lake within the state.

Pipeline Safety Act and Foreign Affairs Doctrine
In November 2020, the state issued a notice to the pipeline company revoking the easement and ordering the company to decommission the pipeline within 180 days. The pipeline company sued the state in federal court, claiming the notice violated the federal Pipeline Safety Act.

The pipeline company also alleges the state’s action violates the Foreign Affairs Doctrine, which preempts state law enforcement that conflicts with foreign policy. The pipeline is subject to a treaty between the US and Canada; Canada alleges the state’s attempt to shut down the pipeline constitutes a violation of that treaty.

DOJ Files SOI
On September 19, 2025, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a Statement of Interest (SOI) in the case. According to DOJ’s press release, it filed the SOI because the state is attempting to “shut down an international pipeline that provides significant energy to the United States.” The “federal Pipeline Safety Act charges the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) with setting nationwide safety standards for interstate pipelines and related infrastructure.” The state’s action “improperly encroached on PHMSA’s exclusive authority under the Pipeline Safety Act.” Further, “shutting down this international pipeline interferes with the United States’ exclusive authority in foreign affairs.”

To see DOJ’s press release, which has a link to the SOI, Office of Public Affairs | Justice Department Files Statement of Interest in Enbridge Case | United States Department of Justice