By Jim Bloch
Four tribal nations will appeal the Michigan Public Service Commission’s recent approval of a permit for Canadian oil transportation giant Enbridge to build a tunnel to encase Line 5 tunnel beneath the Straits of Mackinac.
The tribal nations are the Bay Mills Indian Community, Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians, and Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi.
The tribes “have lived on the lands of present-day Michigan since time immemorial, and they have vigorously opposed the Line 5 tunnel project before the MPSC,” said Alejandro Davila, of Earthjustice, in a Dec. 22 press release.
Earthjustice and the Native American Rights Fund represent the Bay Mills Indian Community.
The tunnel would run just west of the existing twin pipes on the bottom of the Straits.
“The MPSC made a bad decision, plain and simple,” said Whitney Gravelle, Bay Mills Indian Community president, in a statement. “Although we fought to be heard, they put on their blinders and chose to ignore the critical perspective of Tribal Nations throughout the Great Lakes. Indigenous communities have not once been consulted since 1953 when this pipeline was first constructed. Let me be clear: Line 5 remains a threat to not only the tribes, but anyone and everyone who utilizes the Great Lakes. The question is not if the pipeline will leak, it is when.”
According to Earthjustice, Enbridge has had 33 incidents in which 1.1 million gallons of oil were accidentally spilled from Line 5. Enbridge’s Line 6 saw the largest and most expensive inland oil spill in U.S. history in 2010 near Kalamazoo.
The MPSC voted 2-0 on Dec. 1, with one abstention, to approve the siting proposal by Enbridge to build the roughly four-mile long tunnel.
Enbridge applauds decision
Enbridge was pleased with the commission vote.
“The decision by the MPSC is a major step forward in making the Great Lakes Tunnel Project a reality, securing the vital energy people in Michigan and surrounding region rely on every day,” said Mike Fernandez, Enbridge’s senior vice president of public affairs, communications and sustainability, in a statement. “The permit from the MPSC is key to building this engineering marvel and continuing to deliver to Michiganders the energy on which they have come to depend on from Line 5.”
Propane tanks are a common sight in the U.P
The company said that :more than 50 percent of northern Michigan relies on propane that comes from the natural gas liquids transported by Line 5.
The commission found that the tunnel was the best way to protect “the ecological, natural, and cultural resources of the Great Lakes.” It said that other methods of moving the petroleum, such as truck, train, barge and oil tanker, would increase the risks of spills.
Oil and the Great Lakes
Gravelle argued that in a rapidly warming world, Michigan should be leading the way with renewable energy, not underwriting the extended use of fossil fuels.
“Studies show that Line 5 could be decommissioned with almost no impact on jobs, gas prices, or fuel supply,” Gravelle said. “Yet the MPSC did not even pause to ask if we still need this pipeline. Instead, they approved a permit to extend the life of Line 5 for another century. They are prolonging the danger of another oil spill in the Great Lakes, the source of 84 percent of North America’s surface freshwater. The tunnel project is based on a flawed design that has never been tried anywhere else and would produce a mountain of waste rock as tall as a twenty-story building and as long as a football field. Worst of all, it would perpetuate the transfer of 23 million gallons of oil per day just when we need to switch to clean energy sources. The MPSC’s decision is a disaster for all of us.”
A number of tribes, businesses and environmental groups oppose the proposed tunnel project. Line 5 is operating in violation of a shutdown order from the Governor of Michigan and unlawful trespass on the reservation of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa in Wisconsin.
Battle continues
Gravelle said that the fight was not over.
“It’s important to remember that Enbridge does not yet have the final permit they need from the US Army Corps of Engineers to build the tunnel project,” Gravelle said. “As we appeal the MPSC’s disastrous decision, we also demand and expect that the Army Corps conduct a thorough and meaningful environmental impact statement and uphold the treaty trust responsibilities of the United States. We cannot allow history to repeat itself through the destruction of sacred land for private profit.”
Line 5 carries an average of 542,000 barrels of light crude and natural gas liquids per day on its 645 mile route from Superior, Wisconsin to Marysville, Michigan, where it crosses under the St. Clair River in a pipeline directionally drilled below the riverbed in 2020.
Opening briefs in the appeal will be submitted to MPSC in early 2024.
Jim Bloch is a freelance writer based in St. Clair, Michigan. Contact him at bloch.jim@gmail.com.
