Delta Township — The Michigan Public Service Commission ruled Friday the relocation of Enbridge Energy's controversial Line 5 oil pipeline from the lakebed of the Straits of Mackinac to a yet-to-be constructed tunnel beneath the lakebed is the "best option" to improve safety while still securing the "public need" for fossil fuels.
Commission chair Dan Scripps noted the current placement of the dual pipeline on the lakebed west of the Mackinac Bridge, where it is exposed to a potential anchor strike, presents a risk that must be addressed.
"It’s clear," Scripps said. "We need to get those pipelines off the bottomlands and out of the Great Lakes.”
The commission did require Enbridge to make additional risk assessments and safety considerations while moving forward with its plans.
The motion passed 2-0. Commissioner Alessandra Carreon abstained since she was recently appointed to the commission and had not been present for much of the debate on the matter. The two "yes" votes, Scripps and Commissioner Katherine Peretick, are both appointees of Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
The decision was greeted with outbursts from the packed meeting room of "Shut it down!" and "Blood on your hands." One of those addressing the panel said the commission should remove "public service" from its title after Friday's decision.
"You’ve broken my heart," said Lissa Spitz, a resident from Washtenaw County. "We are at the most critical time in human history right now. Our house is burning down. We must end the use of fossil fuels as soon as possible.”
Andrea Pierce, a member of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, said she was "disgusted" by the vote and expected there would be an appeal. She and others argued the pipeline and tunnel would soon be "obsolete" as the state moved away from fossil fuels.
"This will be on your heads for the rest of your lives,” Pierce said.
The vote comes after Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel have engaged in so far unsuccessful litigation seeking to shut down the oil pipeline. It also comes days after the governor signed a bill mandating 100% "clean" energy by 2040, effectively banning the burning of coal for generating electricity.
Commission staff told commissioners Friday that the staff's analysis of Enbridge's siting request found there is a public need for Line 5's oil products, and that the route, location and design of the replacement pipeline is "reasonable" and a "significant improvement" to the current placement on the bottom of Lake Michigan.
There is no other feasible alternative, MPSC staff said.
More:Whitmer vows Michigan will lead 'clean energy future' in signing policy overhaul
The commission has been considering Enbridge's application to replace or relocate the segment of Line 5 connecting the Upper and Lower peninsulas since 2020. In June 2022, the commission delayed its decision, reopened the record in the case and asked the Canadian pipeline giant to provide more information on its plans to create a "full and complete record" of tunnel engineering and the safety of the current dual pipelines.
The Michigan Public Service Commission's approval is one of two remaining hurdles Enbridge needs to clear before it can begin construction on the tunnel announced in 2018. Enbridge also is waiting on a federal review by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which said earlier this year that its study would not be completed until 2026.
The Line 5 pipeline has been a source of controversy for nearly 15 years, after a separate Enbridge pipeline, Line 6B, leaked into the Kalamazoo River in Marshall.
Environmental advocates argued a similar spill from the 4.5-mile segment of Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac, where Lakes Michigan and Huron join, would have devastating effects on the Great Lakes. A 2018 anchor strike on Line 5 escalated those fears.
The 70-year-old pipeline carries oil from western Canada through northern Wisconsin, before crossing into the Upper Peninsula, where it travels east, before turning south and traveling through the Straits of Mackinac for 4.5 miles. Once the pipeline emerges from the straits, it travels south through the Lower Peninsula, then turns east, crosses under the St. Clair River and ends in Sarnia, Ontario.
Enbridge's Line 5 pipeline carries 22.7 million gallons a day of light sweet crude oil and natural gas liquids, which are used to make propane for heating and cooking.
More:Feds: Let Enbridge skip certain Line 5 inspections for 15 years
In 2018, Enbridge agreed to a deal with departing Republican Gov. Rick Snyder to build a straits tunnel to house a new segment of the pipeline; at that point, the tunnel was estimated to cost about $500 million.
Whitmer and Nessel, who both vowed on the campaign trail to shut down Enbridge's oil pipeline, challenged laws establishing a committee that approved the tunnel agreement shortly after taking office.
When the agreement was upheld, Whitmer tried to negotiate a shorter turnaround for tunnel completion, which Enbridge said it could not meet.
More:Army Corps angers critics, heartens Enbridge with Line 5 tunnel decision
More:Enbridge plots next move after judge sets Line 5 closure deadline in Wisconsin
Whitmer and Nessel both filed suits to shut down the tunnel, which Enbridge removed to federal court on the argument that federal regulators had sole jurisdiction over the operation of the pipeline.
When the federal judge upheld the removal of the cases to federal court, Whitmer dropped her case but Nessel continued to pursue hers and it is currently pending before the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Apart from the ongoing lawsuit, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in October 2021 invoked a never-used 1977 treaty over Michigan's threats to shutter the pipeline. The treaty, Canada argued, prevents the U.S. government of Michigan from disrupting operation of a transit pipeline if it harms the energy supply in either country.
Treaty negotiations are ongoing.
eleblanc@detroitnews.com
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Enbridge wins state panel's OK to move Line 5 oil pipeline into straits tunnel - Detroit News
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