Line 5 tunnel in Michigan clears major permitting hurdle, in blow to opposition

Grist is reporting that Michigan cleared major permits this week for Enbridge to tunnel under the Straits of Mackinac—a controversial plan to replace an aging section of the seventy-three-year-old Line 5 pipeline that ferries crude oil and natural gas liquids through environmentally sensitive waters. The tunnel would bury the pipeline beneath the lakebed between Lakes Michigan and Huron. State regulators approved the permits despite acknowledging that construction would harm rare plants, animals, and historic tribal sites—including the remains of tribal ancestors. The Bay Mills Indian Community and environmental opponents argue the project isn't needed and amounts to decades of locked-in fossil fuel use. Enbridge says the tunnel protects the Great Lakes by replacing an aging pipeline that operates safely. The company still needs additional state and federal approvals, plus a Michigan Supreme Court decision expected by summer's end, before breaking ground.

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