A northern Michigan environmental group said it has appealed the state permit that the Enbridge pipeline company obtained last December to build its controversial Line 5 tunnel beneath the Straits of Mackinac.
The permit was issued by the Michigan Public Service Commission for a tunnel that would allow petroleum products to continue flowing across the Straits. Some of the products are delivered to area refineries, including the PBF Energy refinery in East Toledo.
For Love of Water, a group known as FLOW, said it has filed a brief in the Michigan Court of Appeals to challenge the decision. The appeal was filed on behalf of it and other environmental groups, as well as some Native American tribes.
FLOW contends in its brief that Enbridge should have looked for more alternatives and studied whether there was still a public need for the tunnel. Enbridge has had its Line 5 pipeline in Lake Michigan since the late 1950s.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, has been one of the project’s biggest opponents, while Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, has been one of its biggest supporters. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost also have been on opposite sides of the issue.
Enbridge spokesman Ryan Duffy has said the pipeline company is “reimagining infrastructure and energy delivery to Michigan and the region” through its plans to build what has become known as the Great Lakes Tunnel Project, which would be built just west of the Straits.
First Published April 16, 2024, 2:15 p.m.
