Five people and a dog were safely rescued after their boat capsized in the Straits of Mackinac.

If you’re heading Up North for Memorial Day, prepare for delays on the Mackinac Bridge.

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

Michigan attorneys have pressed a federal appellate panel in Cincinnati to move their lawsuit seeking to shut down a portion of an aging petroleum pipeline beneath the Straits of Mackinac from federal to state court.

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.

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.

Federal officials are delaying a decision on whether to approve an oil pipeline tunnel in a Great Lakes waterway.

Join us on the glittery waters of the Straits of Mackinac at sunrise.

The Great Lakes Coast Guard and others responded to a stranded passenger ferry in the Straits of Mackinac on Tuesday night.

The Great Lakes Coast Guard and others are responding to a stranded passenger ferry in the Straits of Mackinac on Tuesday night.

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.

Here are this morning's top stories.

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

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.

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.

History lovers have a chance to own pieces of the original Mackinac Bridge with parts of the bridge's steel grating placed on auction.

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.

(AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)ST. IGNACE, Mich. – An Army veteran already jailed in Ohio after the roof of a Cincinnati skyscraper was accessed has been accused of scaling the Mackinac Bridge in Michigan to take photos. Issac Wright, 25, of Cincinnati, was arraigned Thursday via video in Cheboygan District Court on a charge of felony trespass upon a key transportation facility. Photos taken on the bridge’s south tower were posted in November on social media. The bridge connects Michigan’s Upper and Lower peninsulas. Chartier said she only is representing Wright in the Michigan bridge case.

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.

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 twin pipes run along the bottom of the 4-mile-long (6.4-kilometer-wide) Straits of Mackinac, which connects Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. They make up one segment of Enbridge's Line 5, which carries oil and liquids used in propane between Superior, Wisconsin, and Sarnia, Ontario. The agreement with Snyder included a pledge to hold the state financially harmless for any damages from a Line 5 spill. But the deal was signed by Enbridge Energy Company Inc., a subsidiary of Enbridge Inc., which is based in Calgary, Alberta. In his letter to the parent company, Eichenger said Enbridge Energy doesn't have the resources to cover costs of a major spill.

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. A Michigan regulatory panel on Tuesday refused to grant quick permission to run a new oil pipeline beneath a channel that connects two of the Great Lakes, deciding instead to conduct a full review. Enbridge filed an application in April with the Michigan Public Service Commission to relocate a segment of its Line 5 that extends beneath the Straits of Mackinac, which links Lakes Huron and Michigan. Enbridge asked the state commission to approve the plan immediately, arguing that the agency in effect had already given permission by allowing the original Line 5 in 1953. Enbridge has already shown that they cannot be trusted, said Sean McBrearty of the environmental coalition Oil & Water Don't Mix. Circuit Judge James Jamo was scheduled to hear arguments Tuesday on whether to extend the order or allow oil to resume flowing through the pipes.

A Michigan regulatory panel refused Tuesday, June 30, 2020, to grant quick permission to run a new oil pipeline beneath a channel that connects two of the Great Lakes, deciding instead to conduct a full review. Enbridge filed an application in April with the Michigan Public Service Commission to relocate a segment of its Line 5 that extends beneath the Straits of Mackinac, which links Lakes Huron and Michigan. (Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy via AP)TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. A Michigan regulatory panel on Tuesday refused to grant quick permission to run a new oil pipeline beneath a channel that connects two of the Great Lakes, deciding instead to conduct a full review. The state Public Service Commission's decision involved a proposed replacement for a segment of Enbridge's Line 5 that extends beneath the Straits of Mackinac, which links Lakes Huron and Michigan. Enbridge filed an application in April with the Public Service Commission to relocate the underwater section of Line 5 into the proposed tunnel.

LANSING, Mich. The Ingham County Circuit Court ordered Thursday that Enbridge Energy must cease all operations of the Line 5 oil pipeline located in the Straits of Mackinac. The courts ruling comes after Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed a motion for a temporary restraining requiring Enbridge to cease operations on Monday. The east leg has ceased operations since last week after damage was discovered on Line 5. Work must continue toward complete removal of Line 5 from our waters.The Alberta, Canada-based company discovered damage to the pipelines anchor support on June 18. According to Whitmer, the damaged anchor support lies approximately 150 feet (46 meters) from a section of the pipeline where damage to the pipeline coating was discovered on or around May 26.

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer demanded Friday that Enbridge Energy provide proof that the damage to one of its dual oil pipelines under the Straits of Mackinac will not pose a threat to the area. Whitmer said the damage and how it occurred calls into question the viability of the pipeline. Thats why I am requesting Enbridge turn over to the State of Michigan all relevant information about this most recent damage and provide affirmative evidence that establishes the integrity of the pipeline, Whitmer said in a statement. Duffy clarified that the problem does not affect the pipeline, which he said was shut down as a precaution. The EPA determined that Enbridge neglected to properly evaluate thousands of shallow dents on its Lakehead Pipeline System, which runs across northern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin.

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.

Star Line Ferry crew rescues girl in water off the Straits of MackinacThe crew of a Mackinac Island ferry is being credited for rescuing a young girl whose inner tube was blown away from a beach in northern Michigan. The Star Line Mackinac Island Ferry says the girl drifted Monday about a quarter-mile (0.4 kilometers) from Mackinaw City before the crew reached her. Mike North, a captain for Star Line, tells the Petoskey News-Review that the ferry Joliet was docked in Mackinaw City to load passengers when they learned the girl was adrift. He, another captain and other crew members went out and rescued the girl. North said the girl was OK, just a little scared, and a little cold. Photos posted on social media show crew members helping a girl in a bathing suit up a ladder and onto the ferry.

LANSING, Mich. - Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has taken legal steps to shut down Enbridge's controversial Line 5 oil pipelines in the Straits of Mackinac. The AG's office said they have filed a lawsuit in a first step to decommission Line 5. Nessels lawsuit seeks an order from the Court to shut down and decommission the Straits pipelines as soon as possible. Once that occurred, there was no need for further delay.The Attorney Generals lawsuit identifies a potential anchor strike as the most significant risk to Line 5. Today, Governor Whitmer filed her response asking the court to dismiss Enbridges lawsuit.