Feds issue Line 5 tunnel permit, call it ‘not contrary to the public interest’

The US Army Corps of Engineers has permitted construction of the controversial Line 5 tunnel project in the Straits of Mackinac.

The project, which would divert a section of the Line 5 petroleum pipeline from the open waters of the Straits into a concrete tunnel beneath the lakebed, is “not contrary to the public interest” and would not harm tribal treaty rights, the Army Corps said in announcing its permit. Nonetheless, the Corps noted the project would have adverse effects on endangered species and archaeological sites, that it would contribute to “long-term impacts of habitat loss” and have “long-term detrimental impacts on land use.”

While the federal approval clears a big hurdle for the nearly decade-old proposal, don’t expect shovels in the ground anytime soon. The Michigan Supreme Court recently ordered state energy regulators to reconsider a separate key permit, the project remains tied up in state and federal court, and new lawsuits have been promised by opponents.

Still, Line 5 owners Enbridge Energy praised Wednesday’s decision.

The federal permit “represents the highest standard of environmental review required for major critical energy and other infrastructure projects,” Enbridge said in a written statement. “Line 5 is safe. Enbridge will continue operating Line 5 safely and responsibly, incorporating enhanced safety measures in the Straits, and protecting Michigan’s natural and cultural resources.”

A coalition of Native American tribes that has opposed the project, meanwhile, slammed the decision.

“Our federal government has a solemn obligation to uphold and protect Treaty rights and is supposed to protect American waters and sacred spaces,” Managing Attorney David Gover with the Native American Rights Fund said in a statement. “Instead, the U.S. Army Corps just rubber-stamped a Canadian oil project that desecrates a Tribal sacred space and threatens to pollute the Great Lakes.”

The tunnel project would likely “adversely affect” Houghton’s goldenrod and dwarf lake iris, which are listed as threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act, the Corps said, but that “reductions in the overall recovery, numbers, or distribution” are not expected after mitigation efforts.

The project site is culturally and spiritually significant to the Anishinaabe tribal nations. The Corps noted there would be “major, permanent, adverse effects on historic properties, including archaeological sites” that the tribal nations said “cannot be mitigated.”

The Corps’ decision is in line with the Trump administration’s goal of bolstering fossil fuel energy and preventing renewable energy development.

“The approval of the Enbridge Line 5 Tunnel Project is a testament to President Trump’s vision to ensure our nation’s energy dominance,” said Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Adam Telle in an emailed 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.”

David Holtz, coalition coordinator for the group Oil & Water Don’t Mix said in an email the Corps’ decision was “driven by the Trump Administration’s phony ‘national energy emergency.’”

He said the decision — which did not consider what would happen if the tunnel was not built and Line 5 was decommissioned — was reminiscent of the Michigan Public Service Commission’s permit review that the Michigan Supreme Court recently said was erroneous. The court called the review overly narrow and said it failed to consider whether it would harm public rights to the Great Lakes and that it failed to study whether Line 5 would shut down if the tunnel isn’t built.

On July 15, Michigan’s departments of Natural Resources and Environment, Great Lakes and Energy issued two key permits for the tunnel project, despite noting disruption to Native American burial sites and harm to wetlands and rare species.

Enbridge is also seeking a permit to discharge millions of gallons of treated wastewater per day into Lake Michigan during tunnel construction. EGLE is expected to rule on that by Sept. 30.

Meanwhile, the state is battling in court with Enbridge over Whitmer’s 2020 order to shut the existing pipeline down for fear that it could cause an oil spill in the Straits. A federal judge in December ruled that Michigan had no authority to order a shutdown, but the state has appealed the ruling.

Separately, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has sought a shutdown since 2019 in a case that has pingponged from state to federal court and back again. The case now sits in the 30th Circuit Court in Ingham County, where deliberations are paused pending resolution of the case stemming from Whitmer’s shutdown order.

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This story was originally published by Bridge Michigan and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.