Latest news with #GreatLakesTunnelProject
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Army Corps releases environmental review for Line 5 tunnel through Great Lakes
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has released a long-awaited draft of its environmental review for Enbridge's Line 5 Tunnel project through the Straits of Mackinac. Although the draft is not an official decision, it gives the an idea of how the agency views the project. The Corps is accepting public comments through June with a decision expected in the fall. The Great Lakes Tunnel Project was fast-tracked earlier this spring as a part of the Trump administration's goal to "unleash" American oil and gas. Canadian-headquartered Enbridge has proposed to build a tunnel to house its Line 5 pipeline through the 4 1/2 mile stretch separating Lakes Michigan and Huron. The Army Corps' Detroit District, which is overseeing the permitting process, said it will not eliminate any steps in the environmental review process. But Great Lakes tribes and environmental groups remain unconvinced that the aged-out pipeline can continue to operate safely through the world's largest surface freshwater system. Several Great Lakes tribes withdrew as cooperating agencies in the review process, saying that the federal agency was not acting in good faith. Tribal leaders claimed the process lacked meaningful dialogue and undermined the federal government's responsibility to protect tribal treaty rights. The draft spans hundreds of pages, evaluating the necessity of the proposed project and examining potential environmental impacts while also reviewing possible alternatives. It considered two main alternatives, which included denying permits and allowing the existing pipeline to operate under the Straits as is, or placing a protective cover over the portions that are currently exposed. It also considered changing the tunnel's design and decommissioning the pipeline entirely. Officials from the Corps concluded that the project is warranted, citing projections that demand for the petroleum products transported by the pipeline will either remain stable or grow over the next 25 years. Over the years in the Straits of Mackinac, Line 5 has experienced anchor strikes, missing supports and coating loss, exposing patches of bare metal. The tunnel became possible after a review by former Michigan Republican Gov. Rick Snyder, who in his final month of office when he created the Mackinac Straits Corridor Authority. The corridor authority signed 99-year lease agreement with Enbridge to continue operations of the Line 5 tunnel. Enbridge has said the Great Lakes Tunnel will nearly eliminate the risks of a pipeline incident. The tunnel will be bored into rock 60 to 250 feet under the lakebed, using a tunnel boring machine that will move the tunnel forward 40 feet per day on average. It will be constructed the south side of the Straits to the northern shores, which Enbridge says minimizes environmental impacts. The tunnel will be owned and operated by Michigan, and leased to the company. The Great Lakes Tunnel Project also needs two state permits, one from Michigan's Public Service Commission and the other from the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy. Enbridge has secured the permit from the public service commission, but must redo the permitting process with the environment and energy agency given new information on nearby wetlands. The permit from the state public service commission was challenged by tribes, but that challenge was struck down earlier this year. On April 2, tribes and environmental groups asked the state Supreme Court to consider overturning the lower court's decision. Line 5 opponents have long worried about the risks the pipeline poses to the Great Lakes. The pipeline, which was built in 1953, was built to last 50 years, and leaked 35 times during its tenure. Environmentalists and Great Lakes tribes warn of risks at the Straits of Mackinac, which is seen as the worst place in the region for an oil spill and sacred to Anishinaabe tribes. They also cite threats to nearby wetlands and explosion risks within the tunnel. The Line 6 oil spill that occurred late last year in Jefferson County, Wisconsin, has heightened these fears. The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, an international think tank, released a report earlier this year that said that shutting down the pipeline would be a more cost-effective avenue for the company as that the tunnel will likely cost three times the initial estimate due to inflation and rising costs. More: As Lake Superior wetlands become more vulnerable, tribe fears cultural guideposts could slip away Caitlin Looby is a Report for America corps member who writes about the environment and the Great Lakes. Reach her at clooby@ follow her on X @caitlooby and learn more about how she approaches her reporting. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Army Corps releases environmental review for Line 5 Great Lakes tunnel
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump's ‘energy emergency' means green light for Enbridge Line 5
Mary Annette PemberICT Six Michigan tribes have withdrawn from federal discussions over the controversial Enbridge Line 5 project after learning that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are fast-tracking approval for the massive oil tunnel under the Straits of Mackinac. The escalation of the project follows an executive order declaring a 'national energy emergency' issued by President Donald Trump on Jan. 20, his first day in office. On March 21, the six tribes — the Bay Mills Indian Community, Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi, and Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi — sent a letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers office in Detroit stating their decision to withdraw from the agency's creation of the environmental impact statement for the oil tunnel. SUPPORT INDIGENOUS JOURNALISM. In the letter, tribal leaders noted that they had participated in the Corps' review process and meetings under the National Environmental Policy Act as cooperating agencies providing their input and expertise. But they said they were told at a March 20 meeting with the Corps that the agency is likely to issue an emergency permit to fast-track the Straits of Mackinac project. Tribal leaders called the action 'unacceptable' in the letter. "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,' said Bay Mills Indian Community President Whitney Gravelle in a statement issued by Earth Justice, a nonprofit environmental law organization. 'Yet, once again, the federal government has cast us aside and failed us," Gravelle said in the statement. In an interview with ICT, Gravelle noted that tribes have been providing input and expertise to the Corps since 2021. 'This is a Canadian pipeline running through Michigan for Canada. We are simply the highway that they are taking advantage of in order to have a shorter route,' Gravelle said. 'The executive order declaring a national emergency is intended to be used on fuel for the U.S. by the U.S. Line 5 doesn't meet that standard.' In an email to ICT, Ryan Duffy, media spokesperson for Enbridge, said Line 5 is 'critical energy infrastructure.' 'We value our relationships with all the communities and community members in areas where Enbridge has assets,' Duffy said. 'As we continue to move closer to construction on the Great Lakes Tunnel Project, we remain committed to including tribes and tribal citizens in this incredibly important and consequential project and welcome constructive dialogue and engagement.' He said the State of Michigan has already provided environmental permits for the project, and the Michigan Public Services Commission approved the new pipeline segment under the Straits of Mackinac. 'Line 5 is critical energy infrastructure,' Duffy said. 'Enbridge submitted its permit applications in April 2020 for the Great Lakes Tunnel, a project designed to make a safe pipeline safer while also ensuring the continued safe, secure, and affordable delivery of essential energy to the Great Lakes region …However, after nearly five years, the project still awaits action by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on an environmental impact statement and a permitting decision.' Carrie Fox, public affairs specialist for the Corp's Detroit district, responded to ICT's request for comment with an email outlining the procedures for emergency permits. 'The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is continuing efforts to implement the January 20, 2025, Presidential Executive Order 14156 - Declaring a National Energy Emergency,' Fox said. 'During declared emergency events such as this national energy emergency, longstanding USACE regulations allow divisions to establish emergency permitting procedures to expedite the coordination efforts with federal, state, and tribal partners for comment,' Fox wrote. 'On 17 March, USACE Headquarters instructed division commanders to establish these procedures. Once established, districts will post the procedures in a public notice. These procedures will cover applications for Department of the Army permits related to the energy activities covered by Executive Order 14156.' 'Fossil fuel subsidy in disguise' Enbridge's Line 5 begins its 645-mile run in Superior, Wisconsin, at the company's manifold and runs through northern Wisconsin, parts of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa reservation, east through Michigan's Upper Peninsula and under the Straits of Mackinac, before terminating in Sarnia, Ontario. The line carries up to 540,000 barrels per day of light crude oil and synthetic crude, as well as natural gas liquids such as propane. About four miles of the line rest underwater on the lake bottom of the Straits of Mackinac, which connect Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. In 2018 and 2019, the pipeline was struck by ship anchors in the straits' busy shipping lanes. Although no oil was spilled during these accidents, opponents note that Line 5 has leaked in other areas, releasing over 1 million gallons of oil in various spots in the past 50 years. According to tribes and other critics of the project, a spill in the straits would have catastrophic effects on the environment, water, fish and wildlife, and would endanger tribal members' abilities to practice their subsistence ways of life protected under the Treaty of 1836. In 2010, Enbridge's Line 6B ruptured, spilling 3.3 million gallons of tar sands oil into the Kalamazoo River. The president's order states that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers should take 'prompt and appropriate action' concerning the use of emergency Army Corps permits. 'The United States' ability to remain at the forefront of technological innovation depends on a reliable supply of energy and the integrity of our nation's electrical grid,' according to the executive order. 'There is no national energy emergency,' Debbie Chizewer, an Earth Justice attorney representing the Bay Mills tribe, told ICT. 'This is really a fossil fuel subsidy in disguise. The project doesn't add to American energy capacity because oil is already flowing through the pipeline.' Looking ahead Chizewer and Gravelle both noted that most of the product flowing though Line 5 originates and terminates in Canada. Enbridge's Line 3, which originates in Hardisty, Ontario, carries petroleum products traveling east through Minnesota before terminating in the company's manifold in Superior, Wisconsin. Line 5 then carries the products through Wisconsin, Michigan and back to Canada in Sarnia. Line 5 also supplies some propane to U.S. locations along its route through Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Under the Biden administration, the Army Corps was preparing a draft Environmental Impact Statement after receiving more than 17,000 public comments on the tunnel project. An internal memo circulated in early January before Trump took office directed the agency to assess the risk of oil spills before approving the tunnel project, and to consider other alternatives in its review. The letter was written by former Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) Jaime Pinkham. Gravelle noted that PInkham's memo has not been rescinded. 'So what we have now are two conflicting federal mandates,' Gravelle said. Tribes will, however, continue to participate as consulting parties for the project under the National Historic Preservation Act, according to David Gover of the Pawnee and Choctaw tribes. He is an attorney with the Native American Rights Fund, which is representing the tribes. 'The emergency order essentially eliminates the tribes' opportunity to have a full consultation on the project,' he said. Enbridge still needs permits from Michigan's Department of Environment and Great Lakes and Energy before going forward with the project, however, and still must go through Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's office. Whitmer has long been an opponent to the project, previously ordering the state's Department of Natural Resources to revoke the permit allowing Enbridge to operate the pipeline under the Straits of Mackinac. According to Michigan Advance, attorneys for Whitmer and Michigan's Department of Natural Resources are currently looking to dismiss legal challenges from Enbridge. 'Uniquely, we have every single tribal nation in the state of Michigan standing up and saying the tunnel is a bad idea; it was a bad idea when it was first built in 1953 and it continues to be a bad idea now,' Gravelle said. 'How can we allow an oil and gas pipeline to run through the largest freshwater body resource in North America where 40 million people rely on it for drinking water on a daily basis?' she asked. 'It just doesn't make any sense.' Our stories are worth telling. Our stories are worth sharing. Our stories are worth your support. Contribute today to help ICT carry out its critical mission. Sign up for ICT's free newsletter. ICT, formerly Indian Country Today, is a nonprofit news organization that covers the Indigenous world with a daily digital platform and news broadcast with international viewership
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Appeals Court upholds MPSC permit for Line 5 tunnel project
A sign in Mackinaw City supporting Enbridge's Line 5 tunnel | Susan J. Demas More than a month after attorneys for several Native American tribes and environmental advocacy groups urged the Michigan Court of Appeals to overturn one of the permits needed for Canadian energy company Enbridge to move forward with its controversial Line 5 tunnel, the Court has opted to uphold the Michigan Public Service Commission's decision to permit the project. Environmentalists and Tribal Nations from throughout the Great Lakes Region have raised alarms on the Line 5 pipeline for years, raising particular concern about a four-mile stretch running through the Straits of Mackinac, which connects Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. Line 5 carries more than 22 million gallons of light crude oil and light synthetic crude through the Straits daily, with opponents warning a spill would be catastrophic. Following a 2018 anchor strike which dented three sections of the pipeline, Enbridge agreed to relocate the four-mile section running through the straits into a concrete-lined tunnel beneath the lakebed in hopes of containing any potential spills. In order to move forward with construction on the project, the company must receive permits from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE), the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) and the United States Army Corps of Engineers. While the Michigan Public Service Commission approved Enbridge's permit on Dec. 1, 2023, the decision was quickly challenged by The Bay Mills Indian Community, Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, and Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi, alongside several clean water and environmental advocates. During its meeting to approve the permit, MPSC Chair Dan Scripps said the tunnel project was the best option to mitigate the dangers presented by the pipeline. However, the attorneys challenging the permit argued the Commission had either blocked evidence on the public's need for petroleum products transported by Line 5, the scope of the project's environmental impact and failed to consider its impacts on climate change and greenhouse gasses as well as evidence supporting alternatives to the tunnel. While the parties appealing the permit would have had the permit decision reconsidered alongside this additional information, the three-judge panel who heard the case found 'no basis to reverse or remand.' Enbridge spokesperson Ryan Duffy said the court's decision 'Correctly affirms the comprehensive and detailed work of the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) to approve the application for the Great Lakes Tunnel Project.' 'As we proceed with this modernization project, we remain committed to operating Line 5 responsibly with enhanced safety measures in the Straits that protect Michigan's natural resources and infrastructure in the Straits,' Duffy said. MPSC Spokesperson Matt Helms declined to comment. The pipeline's opponents expressed disappointment and frustration. Carrie La Seur, the legal director of For Love of Water (FLOW) and one of the attorneys who argued on the appeal said they stand their argument that the MPSC failed to make determinations required by the Michigan Environmental Protection Act and improperly excluded key evidence. Adam Ratchenski, a senior associate attorney for Earthjustice who also argued in the appeal reiterated his concerns of the dangers posed by the pipeline. 'Regardless of today's decision, it was backwards and dangerous for the Commission to approve this project without a true consideration of whether Michiganders need it. Nobody wants their water poisoned or their property values torpedoed in order to keep Canadian oil and gas flowing through the Great Lakes,' Ratchenski said. Whitney Gravelle, president of the Bay Mills Indian Community said the decision was disappointing, but not surprising. 'We will continue to press forward in this fight. Line 5, tunnel or not, isn't doing the US any favors. This is a Canadian pipeline that benefits Canadian consumers, while putting US residents and treaty-protected waterways at great risk,' Gravelle said. When asked if there has been any discussion about a further appeal, Karsten Neumeister, media relations specialist for the Environmental Law and Policy Center, which also argued against the commission's decision to permit the tunnel project, said they were still reviewing the opinion. While EGLE granted Enbridge's tunnel project permits in 2021, the company must redo its water resources permit as part of a legal agreement with the department and the Bay Mills Indian Community. The company has completed surveys of wetlands that could be impacted by the project and the Wetland Identification Program has performed their services in preparation for their wetlands protection and Great Lakes bottomlands permit application, but Enbridge has not submitted the application, EGLE Strategic Communications Advisor Scott Dean told the Advance in an email Wednesday. The project must also acquire a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps previously announced that it would extend its environmental review for the project, with plans to issue its draft environmental impact statement this spring. However, the permit process may be fast tracked due to an executive order from President Donald Trump declaring a national energy emergency and directing the USACE to exercise its emergency powers to the fullest extent practicable. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
