The Michigan Public Service Commission is still deliberating on whether to grant Enbridge Energy a permit - that would allow the company to relocate Line 5 and place it into the proposed Great Lakes Tunnel.
The issue wasn’t on the meeting’s agenda, but dozens of people showed up to comment. Attendees referenced an MPSC staff recommendation to approve the tunnel.
Nichole Biber spoke at the meeting. She is a member of the Little Traverse Bay of Odawa - she said approving the permit would compromise the health of people and the water.
“You go outside this morning, I think we could all smell the consequences of this skewing of the public interests, that’s swayed by profit margins at the expense of quality of life, of our lives,” Biber said, referencing the recent wildfires.
The MPSC said last July it needed more time and information to review Enbridge’s application for a permit.
Enbridge has said the tunnel would make the "safe pipeline even safer," and the company is cooperating with the MPSC's requests.
The commission is expected to make a decision on Enbridge’s application later this year. In addition to the commission’s approval, the tunnel also needs a federal permit before it can be constructed in the Straits of Mackinac.
For a full recording of the meeting, visit the MPSC YouTube channel.
