The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has issued the first round of permits allowing Enbridge to reroute an aging pipeline around a tribal reservation.

The fate of a 70-year-old oil pipeline that runs through the Straits of Mackinac will remain in Michigan courts.

The fate of a 70-year-old oil pipeline that runs through the Straits of Mackinac will be decided in Michigan courts.

Progress continues on a controversial plan to build a crude oil pipeline tunnel under the Mackinac Straits despite legal opposition from Native American tribes, environmental groups, and others.

The fate of a 70-year-old oil pipeline that runs through the Straits of Mackinac was debated in court on Thursday, March 21.

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.

During a heated public meeting full of emotional testimony, Michigan’s top energy regulator has granted Enbridge a permit to build a tunnel under the Straits of Mackinac, in an important — but not final — step in the controversial project’s approval process.

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.

A new report details what some experts believe might happen to oil and gas prices if Line 5 is shut down.

A 4.5 mile stretch of Enbridge Energy’s Line 5 pipeline that runs under the Straits of Mackinac has sparked anger, lawsuits, and serious concerns about the threat it poses to the Great Lakes.

Premiering Thursday night on Local 4+, our special investigation on Michigan’s controversial Line 5 pipeline -- where it came from, and why you should care.

The attorney general’s race is the closest on the ballot this November with unique circumstances as it puts incumbent Dana Nessel up against Republican Matt DePerno, a lawyer from the west side of the state.

A new federal regulation requires higher safety standards for pipelines carrying oil and other hazardous liquids through sensitive areas.

In a story published Dec. 15, 2021, about a lawsuit over a Michigan oil pipeline, The Associated Press erroneously reported that U.S. District Judge Janet Neff last month retained jurisdiction over a separate Line 5 case initiated by Enbridge Energy.

The U.S. and Canada will discuss the future of an oil pipeline that crosses part of the Great Lakes.

Enbridge Line 5 is back up and running after protestors broke into a valve site.

Here are this morning's top stories.

The operator of a Michigan oil pipeline says it temporarily shut down Line 5 after protesters warned Enbridge that they planned to turn an emergency valve.

Canada is getting deeply involved in a dispute over an oil pipeline in Michigan.

Michigan environmental officials said Friday that Enbridge Energy is working to remove a 15,000 ship anchor from the Straits of Mackinac lakebed.

The battle over the future of the Line 5 Pipeline seems to have hit a critical pass.

Enbridge Line 5 pipeline runs under the Straits of Mackinac and the 68-year-old pipeline is at the center of a legal tug of war between Michigan, Canada and Enbridge.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is threatening to go after Enbridge's profits from a Great Lakes oil pipeline if it isn't shut down.

Over the last few years, Michigan officials have been at odds with the company Enbridge, who owns and operates Line 5 -- a major oil pipeline that runs beneath the Straits of Mackinac. AdOn Friday, March 12, the Michigan Public Service Commission introduced the state’s new Propane Security Plan. Though the closure of Line 5 appears to be a “when” issue for Michigan officials, Enbridge officials in January said they have no intention of closing the pipeline. AdOn Nov. 24, 2020, Enbridge filed a federal lawsuit against the state of Michigan, challenging the state’s attempt to revoke the 1953 easement. Enbridge officials argued that shutting down Line 5 is “improper and unlawful,” and that disrupting the oil flow would negatively impact U.S. and Canadian residents and businesses.

MACKINAC COUNTY, Mich. – There was praise and disappointment on Friday after the Michigan Department Environment, Great Lakes and Energy approved the first permits to for the controversial tunnel project around the Enbridge Line 5 gas line. The dual oil pipeline is among the largest in the region and runs directly through the Mackinac Straits carrying 23 million gallons of crude oil each day. In 2010, a separate Enbridge pipeline spilled more than 800,000 gallons of oil into Talmadge Creek and the Kalamazoo River. AdEnvironmental scientists estimate an oil spill in the Straits of Mackinac would cost almost $2 billion in cleaning costs and lost tourism revenue. This week the Canadian Consul General in Detroit telling the Canadian National Post shutting down Line 5 could harm Canadian-U.S. relations.

(AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. – Michigan's environmental agency said Friday it has approved construction of an underground tunnel to house a replacement for a controversial oil pipeline in a channel linking two of the Great Lakes. AdThe project requires permits from the state Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. “We have issued permits designed to ensure that if a tunnel is constructed, it will be in strict compliance with relevant statutes and adhere to stringent protections against impacts to the Great Lakes,” Clark said. State officials emphasized the tunnel project was a separate legal matter from the dispute over the existing pipeline, which was laid in 1953. It has taken steps to prevent future anchor strikes and says the tunnel project would eliminate that danger.

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. – Enbridge said Tuesday it would defy Michigan's demand to shut down an oil pipeline that runs through a channel linking two of the Great Lakes, contending that Gov. Saying Enbridge had repeatedly violated the terms and put the lakes at risk, Whitmer gave the company 180 days — until May 12 — to turn off the flow. Enbridge filed a federal lawsuit challenging the order shortly after it was issued. Enbridge has “no intention of shutting down the pipelines based on these unspecified allegations," Koby said in an interview. The company is seeking state and federal permits for the $500 million project, which is not affected by the shutdown order.

DETROIT – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said she is ready to file sanctions against the attorneys who filed lawsuits on behalf of the Trump campaign. The lawsuits have been filed in Michigan and in federal courts. READ: Michigan AG returns fire on Trump: ‘You’re not our type’This year was spent battling COVID lawsuits, election lawsuits and fighting to shutdown Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac. Nessel has spent a good part of 2020 defending the governor’s COVID executive orders and orders from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Then there are the election lawsuits on behalf, or in association with, the Trump campaign.

Enbridge Inc. is suing the state of Michigan for taking steps to shut down the company’s oil pipeline that runs under the Straits of Mackinac. Gretchen Whitmer notified Enbridge that the state was revoking an easement granted in 1953 that allowed an extension of the Line 5 oil pipeline to run through the Straits of Mackinac. We remain highly committed to protecting the Great Lakes, the environment, and all the people who use these waters while delivering energy that people rely on daily. “They have repeatedly violated the terms of the 1953 easement by ignoring structural problems that put our Great Lakes and our families at risk. Today’s lawsuit filed by Enbridge brazenly defies the people of Michigan and their right to protect the Great Lakes from a catastrophic oil spill.

Gretchen Whitmer took legal action Friday to shut down a pipeline that carries oil beneath a channel linking two of the Great Lakes. "They have repeatedly violated the terms of the 1953 easement by ignoring structural problems that put our Great Lakes and our families at risk. The pipeline moves about 23 million gallons (87 million liters) daily between Superior, Wisconsin, and Sarnia, Ontario, traversing parts of northern Michigan and Wisconsin. One of the pipeline supports was damaged this summer, apparently by a boat cable. Placing the pipes beneath a busy shipping lane with no protective cover violated the state's duty to protect the public's interest in Great Lakes waters and bottomlands, the document said.

Gretchen Whitmer took legal action Friday to shut down a pipeline that carries oil beneath a channel linking two of the Great Lakes. “Enbridge has routinely refused to take action to protect our Great Lakes and the millions of Americans who depend on them for clean drinking water and good jobs,” the Democratic governor said in a statement. "They have repeatedly violated the terms of the 1953 easement by ignoring structural problems that put our Great Lakes and our families at risk. One of the pipeline supports was damaged this summer, apparently by a boat cable. Placing the pipes beneath a busy shipping lane with no protective cover violated the state's duty to protect the public's interest in Great Lakes waters and bottomlands, the document said.

The analysis was requested by Oil & Water Don't Mix, a coalition of environmental, business and tribal organizations. Enbridge spokesman Ryan Duffy said the tunnel plans were developed in consultation with experienced geologists and engineers. During an online news conference, O'Mara said the tunnel plans had changed considerably since a 2017 assessment, which described the project as feasible and low-risk. The department plans to issue rulings by the end of the year. Spokesman Nick Assendelft said department staffers would consider the findings of the Oil & Water Don't Mix reviewers along with other public comments.

MACKINAW CITY, Mich. – A 200-foot-long broken boring pipe remains embedded in the Straits of Mackinac and may not be recoverable by a company that operates a fuel pipeline, officials said. Enbridge Inc. retrieved a broken 45-foot rod in December and told state regulators that a pipe of similar length remained. But the leftover pipe actually is 200 feet long, the Detroit Free Press reported Wednesday. The broken pipe was related to a project last summer. “I don't expect much would be done (to recover) that remaining 200 feet of grout rod," Haas said.

$500M program to upgrade Detroit's water, sewer systemsA news conference was held Thursday morning to provide details of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department's (DWSD) five-year, $500 million program to begin to upgrade the city's water and sewer systems. Dive team finds body of missing man in Detroit RiverThe Detroit Police Dive Team has found the body of a man who went missing in the Detroit River. Ford announces massive European restructuring; 12,000 jobs cutThe reductions are part of what the automaker is calling "efficiency improvements across all operations." Metro Detroit weather: Rain and thundershowers; severe riskRain and thundershowers are rumbling through parts of Metro Detroit this morning, especially areas south of 8 Mile early on. Copyright 2019 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved.

DETROIT - Here's what's coming up on Local 4 News at Noon (watch the episode above).Michigan AG files lawsuit to shut down Line 5 oil pipelineMichigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has taken legal steps to shut down Enbridge's controversial Line 5 oil pipelines in the Straits of Mackinac. $500M program to upgrade Detroit's water, sewer systemsA news conference was held Thursday morning to provide details of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department's (DWSD) five-year, $500 million program to begin to upgrade the city's water and sewer systems. Dive team finds body of missing man in Detroit RiverThe Detroit Police Dive Team has found the body of a man who went missing in the Detroit River. Ford announces massive European restructuring; 12,000 jobs cutThe reductions are part of what the automaker is calling "efficiency improvements across all operations." Metro Detroit weather: Rain and thundershowers; severe riskRain and thundershowers are rumbling through parts of Metro Detroit this morning, especially areas south of 8 Mile early on.