The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a key permit for a plan to update an aging segment of the Line 5 pipeline crossing the Straits of Mackinac in Michigan, waterways that tribal nations say are central to their ways of life.
It’s a procedural win for Line 5 owner Enbridge Energy, but comes amid ongoing legal and regulatory hurdles at the state level that are preventing the start of construction. The pipeline carries oil and natural gas liquids 645 miles from Superior, Wisconsin, through Michigan to Sarnia, Ontario, and Enbridge wants to replace a 4-mile segment that lies on the bottom of the ecologically sensitive straits with a new one, buried in a tunnel under the lakebed.
In a statement issued with the decision, the Army Corps said the project wasn’t contrary to the public interest, complied with Clean Water Act guidelines, and “would not abrogate or impermissibly impair tribal treaty rights.” Review of the permit was fast-tracked under President Donald Trump’s executive order last year declaring a “n... Read more
