DETROIT – The Michigan Public Service Commission approved Enbridge’s application for a proposed replacement of the Line 5 pipeline that runs under the Straits of Mackinac on Friday, Dec. 1.
The approval of the $500 million project was met with anger from those concerned about the potential environmental dangers of the controversial pipeline.
According to the commission, about four miles of Line 5′s two 20-inch pipelines will be replaced with a single 30-inch pipeline that will be placed inside a concrete-lined tunnel routed under the lake bed. The commission said the tunnel will be built using state-of-the-art materials and will lower the likelihood of an anchor strike.
Before construction, the commission is requiring Enbridge to submit a detailed risk management plan to the State of Michigan. The underground tunnel will reportedly include leak detectors and equipment needed for inspection and maintenance.
The commission said there is a public need for the replacement section of Line 5 and that without the pipeline, suppliers would need to use higher-risk transportation alternatives.
Related: Does Line 5 put Michigan’s Great Lakes at risk for a ‘catastrophic’ oil spill?
“Other modes of transporting Line 5′s products, such as by truck, rail, oil tanker, or barges, likely would increase environmental impairment and increase the risk of spills that could significantly harm the Great Lakes and its environment,” the commission wrote. “There are no feasible and prudent alternatives to the replacement project pursuant to the Michigan Environmental Protection Act.”
The plan requires approval from the Mackinac Straits Corridor Authority and the United States Army Corps of Engineers before construction begins.
Michigan Senate Republican Leader Aric Nesbitt praised the MPSC for approving the tunnel, stating “Line 5 is a critical energy source for Michiganders. The bipartisan tunnel project is the best and safest way to ensure Michigan residents can fuel their cars and heat their homes for years to come.”
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said the amount of time it will take to build the new tunnel leaves the Great Lakes vulnerable as the original pipeline stays active.
“In issuing its decision today, the Michigan Public Service Commission highlighted the risk posed by the pipelines currently located on the bottomlands of the Straits of Mackinac and the catastrophic effects an oil spill would have on the Great Lakes. Even with today’s approval, the fact remains that we are still years away from the tunnel actually being built. In the meantime, Line 5 is a ticking timebomb in the heart of the Great Lakes,” Nessel said. “As Michigan’s top law enforcement official, I filed a case in state court against Enbridge on behalf of the People of Michigan to protect Michigan’s Great Lakes from the threat posed by Line 5. I am committed to seeing that case through, and I will always take action to protect Michigan’s citizens and natural resources from the threat of pollution.”
Nessel has asked the U.S. Court of Appeals to order that the case seeking to shut down the aging pipeline be sent back to state court.
“This is a Michigan matter that belongs in a Michigan court. Enbridge voluntarily litigated this case in state court for over a year before deciding it would prefer a different forum,” Nessel said. “Now that the Sixth Court has agreed to hear our case, I am hopeful that they will send this case back to state court where it belongs,”
The approval has brought scorn from environmental groups.
“Greenlighting this tunnel simply trades one set of extreme risks for another. There is no other tunnel like this in the world -- and for good reason. Given Enbridge’s terrible track record of repeated safety failures and spills, it is shocking that Michigan regulators would approve this half-baked proposal. We are trading a ticking time bomb for an actual one,” said Ashley Rudzinski, with Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities. “Beyond the risk of a disastrous explosion and oil spill and in our Great Lakes, investing in massive new fossil fuel infrastructure during this time of climate crisis is ludicrous. This decision makes about the same amount of sense as trying to put out a forest fire by dousing it with gasoline. Science tells us that we must transition to clean energy sources, rather than gambling on new, completely untested, fossil fuel infrastructure.”
The group Oil and Water Don’t Mix released the following statement:
“With this action, the Michigan Public Service Commission is putting Michigan in uncharted, dangerous territory while ignoring warnings by independent industry experts who testified during the MPSC’s proceedings; never before has an oil tunnel that also carries other hazardous liquids been built in one of the most ecologically sensitive spots on Earth.
“The proposed tunnel must still pass a comprehensive federal environmental study before moving forward and there is still an open question whether Enbridge intends to build the tunnel or is simply using the project as a diversion and delay from shutting down the existing twin oil pipelines in the Straits of Mackinac. As recently as October, an independent study determined the tunnel and Line 5 is not needed. Moreover, the Line 5 tunnel will worsen the impacts of the climate crisis by adding 27 million metric tons of polluting and climate-altering carbon into the atmosphere, equivalent to ten coal-fired power plants.
“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are now working on the third and final permitting decision for the Line 5 carbon bomb tunnel. Families, businesses, and Michigan communities cannot be left out of this decision-making process. What they need is immediate action, and President Joe Biden could do that right now by revoking the presidential permit for Line 5.”
Sean McBrearty, Oil and Water Don’t Mix campaign coordinator
More information on the case and order can be read in the Line 5 issue brief below:
