An Oil Tunnel is Threatening the Great Lakes

Legal Document

Application for Leave to Appeal Before Michigan Supreme Court: Line 5 Tunnel

Fact Sheet

Line 5 Tunnel Project: Backgrounder

April 13, 2025

Last Chance to Stop Line 5 Oil Tunnel

The Line 5 oil pipeline is putting at risk the Great Lakes — the world’s largest surface freshwater system. At the direction of President Trump, the Army Corps of Engineers is likely to fast-track federal permits for the Line 5 pipeline tunnel replacement. The State of Michigan can still stop the construction.

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A new consequence of one of President Trump's executive orders: The Line 5 oil tunnel underneath the Great Lakes is now likely to be fast-tracked.

Tribes involved in the project's environmental review process immediately left after learning about the administration's plans, effectively blowing the whistle on this whole thing.

Quote [from Whitney Gravelle, President of the Bay Mills Indian Community]: "We participated in the process. We followed the rules. We provided the case law. We submitted the evidence. And we trusted that our voices and our treaty rights would be respected. Yet, once again, the federal government has cast us aside and failed us."

The tunnel would bore under the Straits of Mackinac, a sacred place to Tribes, to hold Line 5. An oil spill on this spot threatens the source of 84% of North America's freshwater.

Fortunately, there are still state-level permits that can stop this oil tunnel. Earthjustice, the Native American Rights Fund, and four Tribes are asking the Michigan Supreme Court to reject one of these permits.

You can join our petition asking Michigan's governor to deny all permits for the oil tunnel by texting LINE 5 to 43428.

Urge Gov. Whitmer to reject the permit and protect our Great Lakes!

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By submitting your mobile phone number, you will receive periodic, but always interesting, text message alerts from Earthjustice on breaking environmental news. Four messages per month on average. Message and data rates may apply. Text HELP to 43428 for more information. Text STOP to 43428 to cancel at any time. Read our privacy policy and terms & conditions for more information.

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Please deny Enbridge's permit for their dangerous oil pipeline tunnel

Dear Governor Whitmer,

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I urge you to deny permits for the Line 5 tunnel project in the Straits of Mackinac.

As you well know, Line 5 is a serious threat to drinking water, tourism, fishing, and communities across the Midwest. Your decision to order the shutdown of the Line 5 dual pipelines in 2020 courageously defended Michigan’s people and natural resources from a Canadian oil pipeline company. Now, your strong leadership is required more than ever to stop the Line 5 tunnel project from threatening the Great Lakes.

The tunnel project is not a safer alternative to the dual pipelines. It is a false solution that extends the risks of Line 5 for another century. Running a hazardous liquids pipeline through a confined underground tunnel has never been implemented anywhere else in the world, and the center of the Great Lakes is no place for an experiment. This expensive, risky project will take at least five years to construct, according to Enbridge’s permit application materials. It will deliver most of its oil and gas back to Canadian consumers.

The fact is that shutting down Line 5 would have little impact on gas prices or fuel supplies in Michigan. Studies show more jobs could be created by decommissioning Line 5 than by building the tunnel project. On the other hand, a massive oil spill from Line 5 could cost over a billion dollars to remediate, with close to $6 billion in added costs levied on communities, including depressed property values and devastated local businesses.

In the face of reckless fast-tracking by the federal government, I urge you to take a stand for the people of Michigan and for the Great Lakes, by rejecting the Line 5 tunnel project.

Sincerely, [Your information here]

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An Oil Tunnel is Threatening the Great Lakes

Application for Leave to Appeal Before Michigan Supreme Court: Line 5 Tunnel

Line 5 Tunnel Project: Backgrounder

Last Chance to Stop Line 5 Oil Tunnel

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