Opponents of Enbridge’s proposed Line 5 tunnel underneath the Straits of Mackinac said Michigan’s decision to reissue a key permit will not end their fight against the oil-related infrastructure.
Environmental groups have long warned an accident could cause an oil spill in the Straits, threatening the Great Lakes. However, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy said the project meets state regulatory requirements. In reissuing the permit last week, it concluded the project’s public and private benefits outweighed other considerations.
Whitney Gravelle, president of the Bay Mills Indian Community, said they are still working to block the project.
"Bay Mills Indian Community will continue pursuing every legal avenue available to protect our treaty rights, defend the Great Lakes, and fulfill our sacred responsibility to protect the water for future generations," Gravelle stated.
Meanwhile, Enbridge said it is reviewing the new permit conditions and continues to operate the existing Line 5 safely under federal standards. The approval process is not over because the project still needs authorization from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Northern Michigan business owners also criticized the state’s permit approval for the Line 5 tunnel.
Juliette King McAvoy, vice president of King Orchards and cofounder of the Great Lakes Business Network, a group of nearly 250 businesses opposing the project, said in addition to farms and tourism depending on clean water from the Great Lakes, her family needs it to grow the fruit they sell.
"It depends on visitors coming to our beaches, staying in our communities, and then driving to farms like mine to pick fruit and buy local fruits and vegetables. Line 5 threatens both ends of that equation," King McAvoy asserted.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources issued a separate permit Thursday requiring protections for threatened plants and bat habitats.
