Michigan Public Service Commission approves Enbridge Line 5 permit for tunnel under Straits of Mackinac
Caitlin Looby
A Michigan agency approved a permit for the controversial Enbridge Line 5 replacement tunnel through the Straits of Mackinac — a huge win for the Canadian oil giant that is also drawing outrage from tribes and environmental groups.
The approval from the Michigan Public Service Commission comes after three years of contested litigation between the oil company, tribes and environmental groups. The project would replace Enbridge's existing Line 5 pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac with an underground pipeline tunnel.
The Line 5 pipeline runs for approximately 4½ miles across the lake bottom of the Straits of Mackinac. The current pipeline diverges into two steel pipes. But the Calgary-based company has proposed to replace it with a single pipeline that will be housed in a tunnel bored through rock and buried beneath the lakebed.
One permit had already been approved from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, which is being challenged by environmental groups. One more permit approval is needed from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is currently slated for 2026.
The permit was approved with conditions, including that the company submit a more detailed risk assessment.
"The decision ... is a major step forward in making the Great Lakes Tunnel Project a reality, protecting the Great Lakes, and securing the vital energy people in Michigan and surrounding region rely on every day," said Juli Kellner, spokesperson for Enbridge, in a statement.
"We are ready to begin work on this project. The only thing standing in the way of locating a replacement section of Line 5 into the tunnel is a decision on our permit application by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers."
Enbridge filed its application to build the replacement tunnel to Michigan’s Public Service Commission in 2020. The commission took up the permit application as a contested case, which allowed other parties to intervene. For instance, the Bay Mills Indian Community, represented by Earthjustice and the Native American Rights Fund, intervened, arguing that Line 5 poses a threat to treaty rights, economies and welfare of tribal citizens throughout the region.
Tribal members and environmental groups expressed frustration after the announcement was made.
"Today’s decision is another notch in a long history of ignoring the rights of Tribal Nations," said Whitney Gravelle, the president of the Bay Mills Indian Community in what is now Michigan's Upper Peninsula, in a statement. "We must act now to protect the peoples of the Great Lakes from an oil spill, to lead our communities out of the fossil fuel era, and to preserve the shared lands and waters in Michigan for all of us."
During the public comment segment, one woman stated that the commission “sentenced the lakes to death.”
The Straits is considered the worst spot in the Great Lakes for an oil spill because of the location and strength of the currents. Gravelle previously told the Journal Sentinel that an oil spill in the Straits would be like a “heart attack” to the world's largest surface freshwater system.
There have been two incidents where anchors have struck and damaged pipeline infrastructure, but neither caused a spill.
Enbridge argues the replacement tunnel will nearly eliminate the chance of a pipeline incident.
Engineers and tunnel safety experts submitted testimony to the public service commission stating their concerns about the risks of a methane explosion in a confined space like the tunnel project. Opponents also argue that the tunnel project will exacerbate the climate crisis, and would be the equivalent of adding seven coal-fired power plants or 6 million new cars on the road.
During the announcement, Dan Scripps, chair of the public service commission, noted that while the country is actively transitioning to clean energy and reducing its reliance on fossil fuels, the transition won't happen overnight. In the meantime, the pipeline needs to be relocated off the bottom of the lake, he said.
The tunnel became possible after Michigan’s former Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican, created a three-member board one month before his term ended that signed a 99-year lease agreement with Enbridge to continue operations of the Line 5 Tunnel.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, ran on a platform to shut down the pipeline. Whitmer revoked Enbridge's easement soon after she entered office in 2020. Michigan’s attorney general is suing Enbridge to shut the pipeline down.
“The proposed project still needs other permits to move forward," said David Gover, attorney for the Native American Rights Fund, in a statement. "We cannot allow one corporation to imperil the ecosystems and lives of all those that live nearby or depend on the Straits for their well-being.”
Christopher Clark, a senior attorney with Earthjustice, told the Journal Sentinel that the Straits are a treaty-protected site, and the decision is an insult to tribes who have treaty rights in the Great Lakes and who are committed to protecting them for future generations.
Clark said that Earthjustice will evaluate next steps and continue to educate state and federal decision-makers about the importance of shutting down Line 5.
Enbridge Line 5 pipeline transports oil from Wisconsin to Ontario
Enbridge's Line 5 pipeline runs 645 miles from Superior, Wisconsin, to Sarnia, Ontario, crossing Michigan’s two peninsulas.
Opponents of Line 5 have argued for years that Line 5 is one of the greatest threats to the Great Lakes, which hold 20% of the world’s surface freshwater and supply drinking water to more than 40 million people.
The pipeline has had more than 30 spills in its 70-year tenure, releasing a total of more than 1 million gallons of oil into the environment. Tribes and environmental activists contend that environmental damage from these spills is infringing on tribal treaty rights.
Enbridge insists that Line 5 is necessary to fulfill energy needs throughout the Great Lakes. Line 5 transports up to 450,000 barrels per day of crude oil as well as 80,000 barrels of natural gas liquids. The oil company supplies up to 55% of Michigan’s propane needs, and brings oil to refineries in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Ontario and Quebec. It earns up to $2 million per day from the pipeline.
The company has also stated that oil prices will rise if the pipeline is shut down. However, a recent report from PLG Consulting based in Chicago found that in the event of a Line 5 shutdown the energy market could adapt without shortages or price hikes. Another report by Environmental Defence Canada found that shutting down the pipeline would raise prices by under 2 cents per liter.
Canada’s oil giant facing setbacks in Wisconsin
In Wisconsin, the oil company has been locked in legal battles with the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa for years.
The Bad River Band first filed a lawsuit against Enbridge in 2019, asking the company to remove the pipeline from its land. The pipeline is currently operating on 12 miles of the Band’s land, even though the easement expired a decade ago.
In September 2022, a U.S. federal judge ruled that Enbridge was trespassing on the Band’s land, but did not shut it down. Earlier this year, the Band submitted an emergency filing arguing that springtime flooding and erosion put Line 5 at risk of a breach. The federal judge ultimately ordered Enbridge to remove the pipeline from the Band’s land by June 2026 or face a shutdown.
The decision also stated that the company must also speed up its proposed reroute, which is a new 41-mile section that will go around the Band’s reservation further inland in Ashland and Iron counties.
Both sides have appealed the decision. Enbridge says the judge didn’t have the authority to threaten a shutdown order. Tribal officials with the Band insist that three years is too long.
Public perception in Wisconsin could play a role in decision-making over the future of the Line 5 pipeline. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is taking extended time to consider the unprecedented number of public comments on the pipeline relocation project around the Band's land. These comments could have weight on the final decision to approve or deny the environmental impact analysis.
The Canadian government has stated its support of the oil company, asking the Court to consider a 1977 treaty that prevents the interruption to the flow of oil between the U.S. and Canada. Tribal members across the Great Lakes have expressed frustration that the U.S. government has yet to weigh in.
The United Nations has recommended that the two countries shut down the pipeline and asked Canada to reconsider its support.
Caitlin Looby is a Report for America corps member who writes about the environment and the Great Lakes. Reach her at clooby@gannett.com or follow her on X @caitlooby.