Michigan taking a second look at Line 5 permit

Posted on by farlane
Three Fires Confederacy Bridge Walk by Sarah Rice for Earthjustice

Three Fires Confederacy Bridge Walk by Sarah Rice for Earthjustice

“We do not own the Great Lakes. We are borrowing them from future generations, and it is our responsibility to return them whole.” -Bay Mills Indian Community President Whitney Gravelle

Earthjustice reports that Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the director of Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) announced yesterday that EGLE 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.

The photo is from the Three Fires Confederacy Bridge Walk For Water on the Mackinac Bridge Monday, September 7, 2026. As a person who loves Lakes Michigan & Huron and all the benefits for tourism, recreation, and of course photography they offer, thank you to all the tribes of the Three Fires Confederacy for working hard to protect the lifeblood of the Great Lakes State!

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Line 5 Pipeline Shut Down … for How Long?

Posted on by farlane

Straits of Mackinac by Mark Swanson

Straits of Mackinac by Mark Swanson

EDITOR’S NOTE: I believe that the Line 5 pipeline is a ridiculous threat to Michigan’s economy & environment, am quite pleased with it being shut down, and strongly hope that it is shut down for good. Sorry if that makes you sad or upsets you. 😉

Ed White of the Associated Press writes that a judge shut down Enbridge’s controversial Line 5 energy pipeline that travels under the Straits of Mackinac on Thursday after Enbridge reported problems with a support piece far below the surface:

Enbridge Inc. has not provided enough information to Michigan officials to show that continued operation of the west leg of the Line 5 twin pipeline is safe, Ingham County Judge James Jamo said.

Without the temporary order, “the risk of harm to the Great Lakes and various communities and businesses that rely on the Great Lakes would be not only substantial but also in some respects irreparable,” the judge said.

…Enbridge’s Line 5 carries oil and natural gas liquids from Superior, Wisconsin, to Sarnia, Ontario. A four-mile (6.4-kilometer) segment divides into two pipes that lie on the bottom of the Straits of Mackinac, which connect Lake Huron and Lake Michigan.

Enbridge last week said an anchor support on the east leg of the pipeline had shifted. The company said Line 5 itself was not ruptured and that no oil spilled into the water, but it still hasn’t explained how the incident occurred.

The east leg was shut down. But Enbridge said it resumed the flow through the west line Saturday after consulting with federal regulators at the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

The judge said he’ll hold a hearing Tuesday on the state’s request for a preliminary injunction that, if granted, could keep Line 5 closed indefinitely.

“With the continued operation of this pipeline, the risk of severe and lasting environmental damage to Michigan’s most important natural resource continues to grow every day,” Attorney General Dana Nessel said.

Read on for lots more. Nessel is not kidding about the potential damage to Michigan’s water from the company that devastated the Kalamazoo River back in 2010 with the largest oil spill in Michigan history. A University of Michigan researcher modeled Line 5 spill scenarios and found that more than 700 miles of shoreline in Lakes Michigan and Huron and on their islands are potentially vulnerable to an oil release in the Straits.

You can also dig into Enbridge’s take on their pipeline that carries Canadian oil through Michigan mainly to Sarnia, Ontario & the case against the LIne 5 at For Love of Water.

Mark took this photo three years ago of the Mighty Mac looking north from the Lower Peninsula across the Straits. See lots more in his Mackinac, Michigan album on Flickr.

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Line 5 and the Great Lakes

Posted on by farlane

Mackinaw-City-and-Mackinac-Bridge

Mackinaw City and Mackinac Bridge, photo by Sandy Hansen Photography 

“There is a pipeline that‘s sitting at the bottom of the Straits of Mackinac. It was designed for a 50 year life and it’s been down there for 63 years. There’s a risk involved in this.”
-Mark Shriberg, National Wildlife Federation

In Line 5 puts Great Lakes at risk on Absolute Michigan via the University of Michigan (video below):

Up to 152 miles (245 km) of coastline in lakes Huron and Michigan could be fouled by a single oil spill at the straits, according to the simulations. When all 840 simulated spills are plotted on a map, a total of 720 miles (1,162 km) of shoreline in the U.S. and Canada are considered potentially vulnerable to spills that would require cleanup. Seven hundred twenty miles is roughly the distance from Detroit to Atlanta.

Areas at highest risk include Mackinac and Bois Blanc islands, as well as locations directly east and west of Mackinaw City. Communities also at risk include Beaver Island, Cross Village, Harbor Springs, Cheboygan and other places along the lakes Huron-Michigan shoreline.

…”Until now, no one knew exactly how much shoreline was vulnerable to spills in the Straits of Mackinac,” said Schwab, a research scientist at the U-M Water Center. “These findings show that under the right conditions, a spill in the Straits of Mackinac could affect a significant amount of shoreline and open-water areas in either Lake Michigan or Lake Huron, or both, very quickly.”

View Sandy’s photo bigger, see more in her aerial slideshow, and follow her on at Sandy Hansen Photography on Facebook.