Michigan state regulators will re-examine permits already granted for the controversial Line 5 tunnel project, following stricter guidelines established by a Michigan Supreme Court decision this summer, the Whitmer administration said Wednesday. Enbridge Energy plans to replace an older section of its oil and natural gas liquids pipeline running through the Straits of Mackinac by constructing a new pipeline inside a tunnel underneath the lakebed. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who ran on a promise to close Line 5 in the Straits and whose administration is currently suing Enbridge to force a shutdown, said the state can't allow the Great Lakes to remain vulnerable for years while pursuing a fix that might never materialize.
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy granted Enbridge a water resources permit for the tunnel on July 15, acknowledging harmful effects on ecological and tribal resources but concluding the tunnel posed less danger than a potential oil spill in the Great Lakes. Two weeks afterward, Michigan's highest court threw out a different tunnel permit issued by the Michigan Public Service Commission, determining the agency examined too limited a scope of potential harm and ordering additional scrutiny. EGLE is also evaluating a separate wastewater permit for the project, with a ruling expected by the end of September, though the department wouldn't directly address how the Supreme Court decision might influence that assessment.
EGLE Director Phil Roos said his agency had evaluated the project's cultural and environmental consequences within its legal authority, but recognized the permit might require further examination based on the court's decision. According to the announcement, conditions written into EGLE's permit block construction of the tunnel entrance from proceeding until all legal uncertainties are settled. Whitmer said the Michigan Supreme Court made clear that the state must conduct more thorough examination of the proposed tunnel's environmental impacts and evaluate alternatives to it. Enbridge pointed to a 2017 agreement signed with then-Gov. Rick Snyder and state officials authorizing the tunnel, arguing the project would be nearing completion without years of court battles and political interference.
The July Supreme Court ruling determined the agency failed to weigh the complete range of environmental dangers or assess how the project would affect the public's legal right to use state natural resources, including the Great Lakes, under Michigan's public trust doctrine. Legal analysts said the expanded review standards will affect state environmental assessments far beyond the Line 5 case. Whitmer sent a separate letter Wednesday to Enbridge President and CEO Gregory Ebel, repeating her demand to shut down the pipeline in the Straits because of oil spill risks, especially after a Line 5 section crossing northern Wisconsin spilled 1.3 million gallons of natural gas liquids last month and remains offline. The governor called for a planned, orderly shift that safeguards Michigan families and businesses while removing oil from the Straits.