LANSING — Upper Peninsula lawmakers are speaking out against an attempt by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to obtain extensive records from Enbridge Inc.

In its investigation of the company’s oil pipeline that runs beneath a channel linking two of the Great Lakes, the DNR has requested documents dating back to 1953, when two 20-inch pipelines were placed across the bottom of the Straits of Mackinac. They are part of Line 5, which carries crude oil and natural gas liquids used in propane from Superior, Wis., to Sarnia, Ontario. The straits connect Lakes Huron and Michigan.

In reaction, a statement was released Tuesday from Sen. Ed McBroom, R-Vulcan; and state Reps. Beau LaFave, R-Iron Mountain; and Greg Markkanen, R-Hancock:

“We find it rich that, in the latest round of delaying the tunnel, the DNR director sent a letter to Enbridge requesting a litany of information about Line 5 that the department and administration already have. This request is a clear attempt to tie the company up in more bureaucratic minutia in order to further delay the closing of the administration’s investigation and getting to work on the tunnel as quickly as possible.

“Simply put, the DNR’s review and Governor Whitmer’s challenge has gone on long enough and we are calling on the DNR to retract the letter. We believe it is in the best interest of the state that the original compromise to keep Line 5 open and operational be honored until the replacement is opened.

“The company already agreed to move up completion by 2023; why is the state seeking to cause delays again? The tunnel is the logical solution to keeping Line 5 open, our energy supply secure, thousands of workers on the job and, importantly, to helping protect the Great Lakes.”

State Rep. Sara Cambensy, D-Marquette, also voiced disappointment in the state’s “onerous request” on issues previously vetted. “It is slowing down progress on a real solution,” Cambensy said.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer last June ordered a review of Enbridge’s compliance with an easement that set conditions for the company to place the pipelines on the Great Lakes bottomlands. The Democratic governor, who has echoed environmentalists’ concerns that the pipes are unsafe and could leak, said violations of the easement could justify an order to shut down the line.

The documents requested from Enbridge will provide “important information,” said Ed Golder, spokesman for the DNR.

The Canadian company, based in Calgary, Alberta, issued a statement saying it had received the information request. Spokesman Michael Barnes said the company had no comment on how it would respond.