The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Wednesday issued a permit for a tunnel that connects Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, bringing the project one step closer to construction.
The permit allows Canadian energy company Enbridge to build a tunnel underneath the lake bed in the Straits of Mackinac, where the two Great Lakes meet. The tunnel is designed to house a 4-mile segment of Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline, which splits into two pipes across the bottom of the straits.
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There are concerns that the aging infrastructure could rupture, causing light crude oil and natural gas liquids to spill into the Great Lakes. The possibility of an oil spill has triggered numerous legal battles over the environmental risks that the pipeline poses. The Line 5 pipeline was built in 1953.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’s Detroit District said it complied with all relevant federal laws and regulations in its environmental review of the tunnel project.
“The approval of the Enbridge Line 5 Tunnel Project is a testament to President Trump’s vision to ensure our nation’s energy dominance,” Adam Telle, assistant secretary of the Army for Civil Works, said in a statement.
“By cutting unneeded red tape and overhauling our regulatory process, to provide fast, clear, and consistent decisions that implement our regulatory authorities just as Congress intended, we are able to help projects like this move forward with regulatory certainty,” Telle added. “Because the U.S. Army is committed to efficiently fulfilling its Congressionally-mandated permitting responsibilities that in turn accelerate the delivery of critical infrastructure with the ‘Building Infrastructure, Not Paperwork’ initiative, the Line 5 Tunnel project will provide the American people with the safe, reliable access to energy its people deserve.”
Environmental advocates and tribal nations are pursuing legal action to shut down the pipeline and prohibit construction of the tunnel. The pipeline trespasses on tribal lands in Wisconsin.
Earthjustice, which represents tribal nations suing Enbridge over its pipeline, slammed the federal government’s decision to issue a permit. The nonprofit organization argued the permit wouldn’t have come without the approval of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s (D-MI) administration, specifically Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy.
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“In contrast to her public messages, Governor Whitmer has not stood up to Enbridge — in fact quite the opposite,” Earthjustice managing attorney Debbie Chizewer said. “But for her administration granting the EGLE permit, the Army Corps could not have given its approval today and put the profits of a private company above the protection of the Great Lakes.”
Earthjustice pointed to the Michigan Supreme Court’s recent order requiring the Michigan Public Service Commission to redo its analysis of the tunnel project. The group said Enbridge needs a new permit from the regulatory agency in order for the project to proceed.
