Line 5 Pipeline

The tribes already had concerns about the process, but news that the Army Corps will likely fast-track the federal permit for the pipeline tunnel was “the final straw,” said Whitney Gravelle, president of the Bay Mills Indian Community.

The Michigan Court of Appeals has upheld a permit for Enbridge Energy’s plan to bury an oil pipeline beneath the environmentally sensitive Straits of Mackinac.

The case stems from a lawsuit filed in 2019 by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, and the intention was to void a 1953 easement that allowed Enbridge to run the dual pipelines across the bottom of the Straits of Mackinac.

A panel of judges in Lansing heard arguments Tuesday morning concerning a state permit that’s necessary for the proposed Line 5 tunnel in the Mackinac Straits. WCMU's All Things Considered host David Nicholas spoke with reporter Teresa Homsi about the appeal.

An amicus brief argues that a 1977 treaty between the United States and Canada gives Michigan a say over the pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac.

Compiled by reporters from both WCMU and IPR, this community resource project takes the form of a timeline that highlights 31 key events in the pipeline’s story in the Straits of Mackinac.

Enbridge wants to build a new 41-mile section of pipeline to take Line 5 around the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa reservation. Opponents want Line 5 shut down.

At protests in Lansing and other cities, activists were less focused on the events of 14 years ago than on the current fight over the future of Enbridge’s Line 5.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit to determine if her lawsuit seeking to shutdown Line 5 belongs in a state court or federal court.

The nonprofit For Love Of Water, which was an intervenor in the case, says the commission's decision violates the Michigan Environmental Protection Act.