Biden reportedly considering shutting down another oil pipeline as energy prices predicted to soar over winter months

As energy prices soar, the Biden administration is considering shutting down yet another critical oil pipeline.

What are the details?

The Biden administration is reportedly studying the impact of shutting down the Line 5 pipeline, which transports crude oil and other petroleum products from Canada to the United States.

The pipeline transports 540,000 barrels of oil per day.

News of the Biden administration's potential plan comes as climate activists and Native American groups pressure President Joe Biden to make good on his campaign promise to reduce U.S. reliance on fossil fuels.

The Detroit Metro Times reported:

All 12 federally recognized tribes in Michigan sent a letter to President Joe Biden and his administration Friday, urging him to lend strong support to the state's effort to shut down the controversial, 78-year-old Line 5 oil pipeline owned by Canadian company Enbridge.

"The Governor, the Attorney General, and our Tribal Nations need your Administration's help," the letter reads. "… During your campaign, you promised that you would heed our concerns and act to protect our fundamental interests. We view Line 5 as an existential threat to our treaty-protected rights, resources, and fundamental way of life as Anishinaabe people of the Great Lakes."

Republican lawmakers, meanwhile, expressed alarm over the possibility of the pipeline shutting down.

Not only would ceasing Line 5's operations likely drive up energy prices in Michigan — which have already spiked 50% in one year — but closing the pipeline would also cost thousands of workers their jobs.

"Line 5 is essential to the lifeblood of the Midwest. Should this pipeline be shut down, tens of thousands of jobs would be lost across Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, and the region; billions of dollars in economic activity would be in jeopardy; and the environment would be at greater risk due to additional trucks operating on roadways and railroads carrying hazardous materials," wrote a group of 13 Republican lawmakers in a letter to Biden last week.

"Furthermore, as we enter the winter months and temperatures drop across the Midwest, the termination of Line 5 will undoubtedly further exacerbate shortages and price increases in home heating fuels like natural gas and propane at a time when Americans are already facing rapidly rising energy prices, steep home heating costs, global supply shortages, and skyrocketing gas prices," they explained.

Anything else?

While the Biden administration considers ceasing another pipeline, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm admitted Sunday energy prices are expected to continue their upward climb through winter.

"Yes, this is going to happen. It will be more expensive this year than last year," Granholm said on CNN's "State of the Union."

Granholm partially blamed soaring prices on the supply chain crisis, partially on energy companies, and partially on fossil fuels. Higher energy prices would not be a problem if the U.S. increased its investment in "clean energy," Granholm claimed.