Native News
Michigan’s Governor Pulls Back on Line 5 Tunnel Permits
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) Director Phillip Roos announced Wednesday that state regulators will undertake a new review of permits issued to Enbridge for its proposed Line 5 tunnel beneath the Straits of Mackinac.
The announcement follows a July 31 decision by the Michigan Supreme Court that overturned the Michigan Public Service Commission’s approval of Enbridge’s proposed tunnel project and sent the case back to the commission for further proceedings. The court found that the commission had failed to properly consider environmental impacts, alternatives and the project’s potential effects on public trust resources.
EGLE issued a resource permit for the tunnel project on July 15 following a 16-month review. The permit was intended to allow Enbridge to replace the existing 73-year-old dual Line 5 pipelines that rest on the bottom of the Straits with a pipeline housed in a tunnel beneath the lakebed.
In a letter to Enbridge President and CEO Gregory Ebel, Whitmer also called on the company to begin working toward an orderly transition to an alternative to both the existing dual pipelines and the proposed tunnel.
The proposed tunnel has been the subject of years of legal challenges from tribal nations, environmental organizations and other groups concerned about potential impacts to the Great Lakes and treaty-protected resources.
Tribes call for protection of the Great Lakes
Bay Mills Indian Community President Whitney Gravelle said the state’s decision follows years of advocacy by Tribal Nations and water protectors.
“This Labor Day, Tribal Nations and water protectors came together in solidarity to walk with the water across the Mackinac Bridge and send a clear message: Line 5 does not belong in the heart of the Great Lakes.”
Gravelle said Tribal citizens, elders and children participated as Anishinaabe people and sovereign Tribal Nations, carrying water, praying and asserting treaty rights.
“For generations, we have warned about the danger Line 5 poses to the Straits of Mackinac and the catastrophic consequences a spill could have for our waters, our fisheries, and our way of life,” Gravelle said.
She said the state’s action represents an important development but emphasized that Tribal Nations must be included in decisions affecting treaty-protected resources.
“Our treaty rights are not an afterthought, and our voices should not only be heard when it is convenient,” Gravelle said. “The Straits are our homeland, not a corridor for a foreign oil company.”
Gravelle added that Tribal Nations will continue advocating for alternatives to Line 5 that protect the Great Lakes.
Environmental groups cite Supreme Court decision
Earthjustice Managing Attorney Debbie Chizewer said the proposed tunnel could have threatened freshwater resources and Tribal lifeways.
“Enbridge’s tunnel project would have jeopardized the country’s largest supply of freshwater and endangered tribal lifeways in order to serve a Canadian pipeline company’s profits,” Chizewer said. “Governor Whitmer did the right and lawful thing by ordering a new review of these permits.”
The Michigan Supreme Court’s July decision held that the Michigan Environmental Protection Act requires regulators to consider environmental impacts factually and proximately caused by a project, fairly compare environmental impacts of alternatives and consider effects on public trust resources.
The court concluded that the PSC had not adequately addressed whether the tunnel could extend Line 5’s operational life, had compared alternatives inconsistently and had failed to expressly consider the project’s impact on public trust resources. The court vacated the PSC’s approval and remanded the matter for further proceedings.
NARF says Tribal treaty resources must be considered
Native American Rights Fund (NARF) Managing Attorney David Gover said the organization appreciates the state’s decision to revisit the permits following the Supreme Court ruling.
“We appreciate that Gov. Whitmer and Director Roos heard the Tribal Nations, local communities and the Court,” Gover said. “EGLE should have never issued these permits and the recent Michigan Supreme Court decision confirms that.”
Gover said permitting agencies should fully examine the project’s potential impacts on Tribal treaty-protected resources.
“It is imperative that all permitting agencies take the time to review and fully understand the impacts on Tribal Treaty-protected resources, as there is no denying the harm this proposed project would cause to cultural resources, the environment, and the impacted Treaty resources,” he said.
“The Straits of Mackinac are a sacred space, and should be protected from permanent destruction by oil pipelines running through the Straits,” Gover said.
EGLE’s July permit followed consideration of more than 70,000 public comments, a public information session and a public hearing. The agency said at the time that its review concluded the public and private need for the proposed activity outweighed other public-interest criteria.
The state now faces another review of the Line 5 tunnel permits as Michigan regulators respond to the Supreme Court’s ruling and the concerns raised by Tribal Nations, environmental organizations and local communities.
Michigan EGLE Line 5 information and permit documents
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