2/21/2025

UPPER MICHIGAN - A Michigan appeals court has ruled that Enbridge Energy’s plans to build a tunnel around a pipeline that runs beneath a channel that connects Lake Michigan and Lake Huron can continue. The court rejected the argument by environmental groups and Native American tribes that the stretch of pipeline was unnecessary and unsafe and said that Enbridge had properly secured permits for that work, taking into consideration the safety of the line and the tunnel around it. The ruling is still not the end of the legal battle over the line. Governor Whitmer opposes the continued operation of Line 5 even if it is protected by a tunnel and a lawsuit filed by Attorney General Dana Nessel in 2019 is still waiting for a ruling, which may come in the very near future. Also, Enbridge has not secured the necessary federal construction permits for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as of yet, though many who do not want the tunnel or the line are concerned that the current administration may fast track the process.