Michigan’s Governor Pulls Back on Line 5 Tunnel Permits

This morning, Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the director of Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) announced that the state agency will undertake a new review of the permits that Enbridge secured in July to construct its proposed Line 5 oil tunnel project below the Straits of Mackinac. In a letter to Enbridge President and CEO Gregory Ebel, Gov. Whitmer also called on Enbridge to begin working on a planned, orderly transition to an alternative to both the existing dual pipelines and the tunnel. 

Bay Mills Indian Community President Whitney Gravelle said: “This Labor Day, Tribal Nations and water protectors came together in solidarity to walk with the water across the Mackinac Bridge and send a clear message: Line 5 does not belong in the heart of the Great Lakes. Tribal citizens, elders, and children came together as Anishinaabe people and as sovereign Tribal Nations, carrying water, praying, and standing up for the treaty rights our ancestors reserved for us. Our unity was a reminder that the Tribes have been right all along. For generations, we have warned about the danger Line 5 poses to the Straits of Mackinac and the catastrophic consequences a spill could have for our waters, our fisheries, and our way of life. Today’s action is an important step, and the right step by the State of Michigan, but Tribal Nations must be listened to. Our treaty rights are not an afterthought, and our voices should not only be heard when it is convenient. The Straits are our homeland, not a corridor for a foreign oil company. We do not own the Great Lakes. We are borrowing them from future generations, and it is our responsibility to return them whole. That means moving beyond Line 5 and toward safer alternatives that do not gamble with the heart of the Great Lakes. Tribal Nations will continue to stand together until these waters are protected.” 

Earthjustice Managing Attorney Debbie Chizewer said: “Enbridge’s tunnel project would have jeopardized the country’s largest supply of freshwater and endangered tribal lifeways in order to serve a Canadian pipeline company’s profits. Governor Whitmer did the right and lawful thing by ordering a new review of these permits.”  

Native American Rights Fund (NARF) Managing Attorney David Gover said: “We appreciate that Gov. Whitmer and Director Roos heard the Tribal Nations, local communities and the Court. EGLE should have never issued these permits and the recent Michigan Supreme Court decision confirms that.  It is imperative that all permitting agencies take the time to review and fully understand the impacts on Tribal Treaty-protected resources, as there is no denying the harm this proposed project would cause to cultural resources, the environment, and the impacted Treaty resources. The Straits of Mackinac are a sacred space, and should be protected from permanent destruction by oil pipelines running through the Straits.” 

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