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Army Corps fast-tracks Enbridge Line 5 tunnel project through Straits of Mackinac [1]
['Caitlin Looby']
Date: 2025-04-16
Army Corps fast-tracks Enbridge Line 5 tunnel project through Straits of Mackinac
Show Caption Hide Caption Indigenous water activists chant 'Stop Line 5' outside the White House Activists sat outside of the White House chanted, “Stop line five,” on Oct. 11, 2021, in reference to a pipeline operated by Canadian company Enbridge. Andrew Miller/Amazon Watch via Storyful
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has classified the Line 5 tunnel project as an "emergency" project, expediting the permitting process.
The decision, made under the Trump Administration's goal to boost American oil and gas production, has raised concerns among environmental groups and Great Lakes tribes.
The highly controversial Line 5 tunnel project through the Straits of Mackinac will be fast-tracked, likely bypassing a thorough environmental review, as a part of the Trump administration's stated goal to unleash American oil and gas.
Line 5, owned and operated by Canadian-headquartered Enbridge, runs through the Great Lakes, crossing 4.5 miles on the bottom of Lakes Michigan and Huron.
In a media call on April 16 with the Army Corps' Detroit District, which is overseeing the permitting process for the tunnel project, the agency said it will not eliminate any steps in the environmental review process. Public hearings will still take place after a draft of the environmental impact statement is released later this spring. Information on the draft and public hearings will be posted on the Army Corps' website.
However, Line 5 opponents worry what the emergency designation will mean for the review process.
"Building a tunnel under the Great Lakes to house an outdated and dangerous pipeline is risky. Expediting that process is reckless," said Beth Wallace, climate and energy director for the National Wildlife Federation, in a statement. "The permitting processes exists for a reason. We cannot afford to bypass safety in order to line the pockets of a foreign oil company."
The Army Corps said on the media call that it will still consider tribal treaty rights in the emergency review process, and about 20 tribes have participated in the consultation process.
But ahead of the Army Corps' decision, which has been looming for weeks, six Great Lakes tribes pulled out as cooperating agencies in the federal review process. Tribal leaders argued the federal agency was not acting in good faith, and was undermining the federal government’s responsibility to protect tribal treaty rights.
Last year, the Canadian oil giant chose Barnard Construction to build the Great Lakes tunnel for Line 5. The company is owned by Tim Barnard, who along with his wife, gave $1 million total to Trump’s campaign during the election, according to records from the Federal Elections Commission.
On March 31, the agency's Great Lakes and Ohio River Division announced that its seven districts were authorized to use special emergency processing procedures, which the agency said it would publicly post.
However, the Army Corps' website states that "even in an emergency situation, reasonable efforts will be made to receive comments from interested federal, state, and local agencies and the affected public."
Enbridge applied for the federal permit in April 2020. The Line 5 tunnel through the Straits will "make a safe pipeline safer while also ensuring the continued safe, secure and affordable delivery of essential energy to the Great Lakes region," said Juli Kellner, a spokesperson for the oil company.
"Refineries and propane facilities in the Great Lakes region rely on raw materials from Line 5 to produce refined products millions of people rely on every single day," Kellner said.
The move to expedite the tunnel project as an emergency project will likely face legal challenges from environmental groups and Great Lakes tribes.
The company also needs state permits from Michigan’s Public Service Commission and Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy. Enbridge has secured the permit from the public service commission, but must redo the permitting process with the environment and energy agency given new information on nearby wetlands.
The permit from the state public service commission was challenged by tribes, but that challenge was struck down earlier this year. On April 2, tribes and environmental groups asked the state Supreme Court to consider overturning the lower court's decision.
More: As Line 5 tunnel set to be fast-tracked, Great Lakes tribes withdraw from cooperating on environmental review
Enbridge's Great Lakes tunnel has been a hot-button issue for years
The Line 5 pipeline runs 645 miles from Superior, Wisconsin, to Sarnia, Ontario, crossing Michigan’s two peninsulas. It carries oil and gas products, which largely pass through the U.S. Some products, like propane, are used in Michigan.
Enbridge has proposed relocating the Line 5 pipeline into a concrete-lined tunnel, bored through the lakebed, which the Canadian oil company has said will nearly eliminate the chance of a pipeline incident. Enbridge first proposed the tunnel project in 2018. The Army Corps’ environmental impact statement will be released in June, according to the agency.
Line 5 opponents have long worried about the risks the aging pipeline poses. The pipeline, which was built in 1953, was built to last 50 years, and has leaked 35 times during its tenure. Environmentalists and Great Lakes tribes are especially worried about the risks through the Straits of Mackinac, which is considered the worst spot in the Great Lakes for an oil spill and culturally significant to Ojibwe tribes. Opponents have also raised concerns that nearby wetlands could be affected, and there is a risk of explosion within the tunnel due to the pipeline's contents.
Tribes and environmental groups worry what the emergency designation will mean for the review process. However, the Army Corps' website states that "even in an emergency situation, reasonable efforts will be made to receive comments from interested federal, state, and local agencies and the affected public."
More: Along Wisconsin's northern shores, Line 5 continues to pit tribal culture against Big Oil
More: As Lake Superior wetlands become more vulnerable, tribe fears cultural guideposts could slip away
Caitlin Looby is a Report for America corps member who writes about the environment and the Great Lakes. Reach her at
[email protected], follow her on X @caitlooby and learn more about how she approaches her reporting.
Please consider supporting journalism that informs our democracy with a tax-deductible gift to this reporting effort at jsonline.com/RFA or by check made out to The GroundTruth Project with subject line Report for America Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Campaign. Address: The GroundTruth Project, Lockbox Services, 9450 SW Gemini Dr, PMB 46837, Beaverton, Oregon 97008-7105.
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