The Michigan Supreme Court ordered state regulators to reconsider the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline tunnel permit.
The Michigan Supreme Court ruled on Friday that state regulators must reconsider the permit for the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline tunnel project. In a 6-1 decision, the court determined that the Michigan Public Service Commission failed to fully evaluate the potential environmental harms of the tunnel and did not adequately compare it to other transportation alternatives like trucks or trains. Enbridge, a Canadian energy company, proposed the tunnel to encase the 4-mile segment of the pipeline that runs through the Straits of Mackinac. While the company argues the tunnel would significantly reduce the risk of an oil spill, critics and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer have pushed to move the pipeline away from the waterway entirely. Opponents argue that the tunnel project would turn a sacred Indigenous site into a years-long construction zone. Enbridge is currently reviewing its legal options following the court's ruling, which adds another delay to a project that has been under review for nearly a decade.