Michigan must reconsider permits it issued in July for a proposed Great Lakes tunnel project in light of a recent state Supreme Court decision, Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) announced.
The state issued permits on July 15 for the Great Lakes Tunnel Project, intended to house the existing Line 5 dual pipelines. Sixteen days later, on July 31, the Michigan Supreme Court issued a decision in a case about the same project concerning a permit previously issued by the Michigan Public Service Commission. The court ruled that the state must assess potential environmental harms from the project and compare alternatives.
EGLE Director Phil Roos said the court's decision requires the state to more thoroughly scrutinize the environmental consequences of the tunnel project and that conditions in EGLE's permit prevent construction of the tunnel entrance from moving forward while legal questions are resolved.
In a letter to Enbridge CEO Gregory Ebel, Governor Whitmer called on the company to stop treating the tunnel as its only option and to pursue an alternative that could move oil out of the Straits of Mackinac far sooner. The existing dual pipelines are nearly 73 years old and run underwater through the straits.
Whitmer said, "The Michigan Supreme Court has made clear that the state must more thoroughly scrutinize the environmental consequences of the proposed tunnel and the alternatives to it. At the same time, Enbridge needs to stop asking Michigan to wait for a tunnel that could be a decade or longer away and start pursuing alternatives now that can get oil out of the Straits within months."
The state is reviewing its options for proceeding in a manner consistent with the Supreme Court's decision and Michigan law.