The Michigan Supreme Court has ordered state regulators to reconsider a key permit that allowed a planned tunnel to carry an oil pipeline under part of the Great Lakes to move forward. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Associated Press.
The 6-1 decision further clouds the future of the 73-year-old pipeline owned by Canadian energy transportation company Enbridge that carries petroleum from Superior, Wisconsin, to Sarnia, Ontario.
The part of the pipeline in question, called Line 5, runs for 4 miles (6 kilometers) along the bottom of the Straits of Mackinac where Lakes Huron and Michigan meet.
Enbridge wants to bury the pipeline in a tunnel under the straits. Environmentalists and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer want to move the pipeline away from the waterway altogether saying a spill would be catastrophic to the Great Lakes and surrounding area.
The Michigan Public Service Commission granted a permit to build the tunnel in 2023. Four Michigan tribal nations along with several environmental groups sued.
The Michigan Supreme Court ruled Friday that when they granted the permit, regulators failed to consider if the tunnel project will extend the lifetime of the pipeline, resulting in more harm to the environment.
The ruling also said the Public Service Commission wasn’t consistent when it compared alternatives to the pipeline like using trucks or trains to move the oil and didn’t assess how the tunnel might impact fishing, boating and other public trust rights on the Great Lakes.