Supreme Court sends Line 5 back to PSC with new instructions

The Public Service Commission must consider various environmental implications of the Line 5 tunnel project and its impact on public trust resources, the Supreme Court ruled Friday in a key case challenging the controversial tunnel’s construction.

In re Application of Enbridge Energy to Replace and Relocate Line 5, the Supreme Court, in a 6-1 decision, overturned the Court of Appeals and ordered the PSC to consider additional factors.

Justice Brian Zahra did not agree with the majority opinion, written by Justice Elizabeth Welch.

The Court of Appeals previously ruled that the PSC issued a comprehensive and detailed opinion, and acted reasonably when considering its actions and rulings a whole in regard to Line 5.

The Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians and other groups sued Enbridge after to appeal the commission’s December 2023 decision. The PSC action allowed Enbridge to move conditionally forward with its plans to put a portion of the pipeline in a tunnel beneath the Straits of Mackinac.

Those who appealed the decision argued that the commission erred by only looking to the public need for the new portion of pipeline, as opposed to reconsidering the need for Line 5 as a whole.

The majority kicked the consideration of the tunnel project back to the PSC.

“On remand, the PSC must fully assess the replacement project’s potential harms,” Welch wrote. “The PSC must also conduct a fair and consistent comparison of the replacement project’s environmental impacts with those of the alternatives. And the PSC must consider the extent to which the replacement project may pollute, impair, or destroy public trust resources.”