Michigan Supreme Court Takes Up Challenge to Line 5 Oil Tunnel

Michigan Supreme Court Takes Up Challenge to Line 5 Oil Tunnel

Court will hear arguments by Michigan Tribes and environmental advocates

Contacts

Timna Axel, [email protected], (773) 828-0712

The Michigan Supreme Court said it will hear a challenge brought by Tribal Nations located in Michigan and environmental advocates who argue that the Michigan Public Service Commission broke state laws in approving Enbridge's proposal to construct a massive oil tunnel beneath the Straits of Mackinac. The Canadian pipeline company still needs federal and state permits for the tunnel, which would replace a section of Line 5 known as the dual pipelines. The dual pipelines carry up to 23 million gallons of oil and gas daily through open water, in violation of a 2020 shutdown order by the State of Michigan.

"The tunnel project and the dual pipelines are just two versions of one terrible idea that threatens to destroy our clean water, our fishing, and our way of life for the sake of Canadian profits," said Bay Mills Indian Community President Whitney Gravelle. "Our choice is not between the dual pipelines and the tunnel. Our choice is between an oil spill in the Great Lakes and a clean water future for our children and grandchildren to enjoy. We simply want government officials to consider the safest, cheapest, and most common-sense alternative: Decommission Line 5."

Bay Mills brought the challenge with Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, and Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi. The Tribes argue alongside the Michigan Climate Action Network and the Environmental Law & Policy Center that the Commission's 2023 decision to approve the tunnel violates Michigan's Constitution and the Michigan Environmental Protection Act, by failing to properly consider the risk of oil spills.

"The Commission approved this project without a true consideration of its impacts or an analysis of whether Michiganders need it, but one thing is clear: the heart of the Great Lakes is simply no place for an oil pipeline tunnel," said Senior Associate Attorney Adam Ratchenski with Earthjustice, which represents the Tribes along with the Native American Rights Fund (NARF). "We're grateful the Court chose to hear this case, and we look forward to presenting our arguments."

"The Commission omitted testimony from the Bay Mills Indian Community about the project's impacts to their Treaty protected rights in the Straits of Mackinac, a sacred place for Bay Mills and other Tribal Nations," said NARF Managing Attorney David L. Gover. "Only after excluding all of this evidence did the Commission evaluate if Enbridge should have a permit for the proposed Line 5 tunnel project. The Michigan Supreme Court will hear our demand that the Commission conduct a thorough analysis and fulfil its duty to protect Michiganders, including Tribal Nations, from Line 5."

Enbridge's proposal to run a hazardous liquids pipeline through a confined underground tunnel has never been attempted anywhere else in the world, and tunnel safety experts warn it could cause an explosion in the Straits. Enbridge is responsible for the million-gallon oil spill into the Kalamazoo River in 2010, for breaching multiple Minnesota aquifers during Line 3 construction, and for the recent largest oil spill in Wisconsin history.

Additional Resources

• Tribes, Greens Take Line 5 Tunnel to Michigan's Supreme Court
• Court Denies Tribes, Green Groups a Line 5 Permit Redo
• Tribes, Environmental Groups Urge Michigan Appeals Court to Reverse Enbridge Line 5 Tunnel Permit Approval
• Related case documents & news
• About the Midwest Office

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