June 27, 2024
Lansing, MI – The Environmental Law & Policy Center (ELPC) and Michigan Climate Action Network (MiCAN) filed a brief asking the Michigan Court of Appeals to reverse the Michigan Public Service Commission’s flawed order approving a permit for Enbridge to build its “Line 5” oil pipeline tunnel in the lakebed of the Straits of Mackinac. ELPC and MiCAN intervened in the Commission’s tunnel permit application process, contending that Enbridge’s existing 65-year-old underwater dual pipeline segment posed a dangerous risk for a catastrophic oil spill and should be shut down to protect the Great Lakes and reduce the threat of climate change.
“Enbridge’s Line 5 oil pipeline is too dangerous to run through the Straits of Mackinac where an oil spill would be catastrophic. The Commission failed to fully and fairly assess feasible alternatives to the Line 5 oil tunnel that would be better to avoid climate and environmental risks, and could be more cost-effective,” said Howard Learner, ELPC’s Executive Director and Senior Attorney. ELPC attorneys are representing both ELPC and MiCAN.
“The Michigan Public Service Commission is out of step with the public and other state policymakers who have already determined that the best option is to shut down Line 5,” said Dr. Denise Keele, MiCAN’s Executive Director. “Constructing a tunnel to transport Enbridge’s crude oil is not only dangerous but undermines the State of Michigan’s goal of 100% clean energy by 2040 by investing in unnecessary fossil fuel infrastructure that will continue to contribute to climate change too far into the future.”