A tribal coalition is celebrating its Michigan Supreme Court victory against an oil and natural gas pipeline tunnel project that would run through the Straits of Mackinac.
The tunnel would house the decades-old Line 5 pipeline in an attempt to protect it from anchor strikes and other damage. Environmental activists have spent years fighting it in hopes of having the pipeline shut down instead.
In 2023, the Michigan Public Service Commission approved a permit to build the tunnel after following an administrative law judge’s ruling about which factors it should consider as part of an environmental review. The judge decided the MPSC should only look at what impact the tunnel construction itself would have.
But, in a 6-1 ruling Friday, the Michigan Supreme Court’s liberal justices found that review requires a broader scope. That includes factors like what alternatives to the project would be better for the environment, and how the project could hurt Michigan’s “public trust resources.”
“The real question before us is what extending the life of Line 5 means for the Great Lakes,” said Bay Mills Indian Community president Whitney Gravelle in a press conference Monday. “For treaty-protected fishing, for our homelands, and for every community that depends on clean water. And the court agreed. The court agreed that the public service commission cannot ignore those questions.”
The issue now returns to the commission for a new review. Enbridge, the company that operates Line 5 and other pipelines, has long maintained that both the project and the tunnel are safe and in the public’s best interest.
“The Court’s decision is unfortunate in that it adds an additional delay to the permitting process for the Great Lakes Tunnel, which is designed to protect the Great Lakes and ensure the ongoing safe, reliable and efficient delivery of energy to our region,” Enbridge spokesperson Ryan Ruffy said in a written statement.
“Enbridge is reviewing the opinion and assessing legal options,” Ruffy said. “What remains unchanged is our commitment to operating Line 5 safely and responsibly, incorporating enhanced safety measures in the Straits, and protecting Michigan’s natural resources for generations to come.”
While the company emphasizes having a tunnel built around the pipeline would be safer than leaving it largely exposed on the lakebed, as it currently is, environmentalists argue shutting it down would be the safest option. They characterize the options of keeping the pipeline running uncovered or potentially extending its operation decades longer with the tunnel as “between horrible and horrible.”
The Supreme Court’s ruling, however, means opponents could bring concerns about what climate impact the continued burning of fossil fuels could have and risks facing other parts of the 645-mile-long pipeline.
“It’s not just the Straits (of Mackinac) segment that’s in bad shape,” Earthjustice senior attorney Adam Ratchenski said. “It crosses hundreds of waterways along its route. Many of them interconnected the Great Lakes and a spill at any of those crossings would have devastating effects to the Great Lakes and tribal fisheries.”
Friday’s ruling only concerns one piece of the legal fight over Line 5’s future. Other cases over a possible shutdown are still pending before state and federal courts. And, last month, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) and Department of Natural Resources (DNR) both granted their own permits.
Lawyer Riyaz Kanji said the Supreme Court’s ruling on the public trust doctrine makes it easier to challenge those decisions. Kanji said projects that impact public resources, like the Great Lakes, shouldn’t be granted unless they advance public interest somehow.
Line 5’s opponents argue the need for propane in rural parts of the state doesn’t meet that standard.
“And that is not an analysis that either EGLE, the DNR, or the Public Service Commission have ever engaged in with respect to the tunnel,” Kanji said.
Non-commercial, fact based reporting is made possible by your financial support. Make your donation to WEMU today to keep your community NPR station thriving.
Like 89.1 WEMU on Facebook and follow us on X (Twitter)
Contact WEMU News at 734.487.3363 or email us at studio@wemu.org
