U.S. Army Corps OKs Line 5 tunnel permit

The long-awaited permit for Enbridge Energy’s Line 5 tunnel project was provided by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers today, although construction is not imminent given other hurdles.

Last month, the Michigan Supreme Court ordered the Public Service Commission to consider additional factors in its permit for the project. Other court cases dealing with the operation of the existing pipeline under the Straits of Mackinac and the tunnel are pending as well.

Still, the U.S. Army Corps decision comes after years of review and is a key milestone for Enbridge.

“The approval of this key federal permit for the Great Lakes Tunnel Project is a significant step forward and reflects the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ more than six years of rigorous, comprehensive review,” Enbridge spokesperson Ryan Duffy said in a statement. “Enbridge is committed to protecting the Great Lakes, the region’s natural and cultural resources, and the waterfront communities that depend on them, while also ensuring reliable energy for the region.”

Opponents of the project, including environmental groups and Native American tribes in the region, argue the existing pipeline is not safe, and the tunnel should not be built. A coalition of tribes in a statement blasted the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

“The decision by the U.S. Army Corps is more than a procedural failure, it is a profound breach of the United States’ treaty trust responsibility to Tribal Nations,” Bay Mills Indian Community President Whitney Gravelle said in a statement. “Our treaties are solemn promises that carry the highest legal and moral obligation, yet the Corps cast that aside. They disregarded our treaty rights, ignored the information we provided through consultation, and pushed past cultural resource obligations under the manufactured excuse of an ‘energy emergency.’ Instead of honoring the commitments embedded in the 1836 Treaty of Washington, they chose to treat Tribal Nations as an obstacle rather than as sovereigns whose rights must be honored – all to advance Enbridge’s interests at the expense of our homelands, our waters and the Great Lakes.”

Duffy said Line 5 is safe and the company will continue operating it “safely and responsibly, incorporating enhanced safety measures in the Straits, and protecting Michigan’s natural and cultural resources.”

The U.S. Army Corps determined the tunnel would not abrogate Tribal treaty rights and it is not “contrary to the public interest.”