PHOTO BY joeldinda/FLICKR
The company responsible for the proposed Line 5 tunnel under the Straits of Mackinac, Enbridge Energy, announced on March 6 that it had selected contractors for the project despite pending legal issues.
The news comes only one day after For the Love of Water (FLOW) in Traverse City, Michigan, filed formal complaints to the Mackinac Straits Corridor Authority asking for the project to be halted. The Corridor Authority met on March 6 to discuss the tunnel project and oil pipeline.
Enbridge says they selected Michigan-based construction company Jay Dee Contractors Inc. to construct the tunnel, which will house a new Line 5 pipeline, and engineering company Arup will help design the project.
FLOW argues that the project should not move forward until all legal authorization has been obtained.
“The oil tunnel negotiators and parties’ attempt to bypass the Great Lakes Submerged Lands Act (GLSLA) and the public trust law constitute one of the most egregious attacks on citizens’ rights and sovereign public trust interests in the Great Lakes in the history of the State of Michigan,” says FLOW Founder and President Jim Olson.
Despite this, Enbridge says the construction of the new tunnel (which will replace twin pipelines that have been in operation since 1953) will begin in 2021 and be in service by 2024.
To learn more about FLOW’s formal comments, visit forloveofwater.org/flow-urges-mackinac-straits-corridor-authority-to-halt-action-on-unauthorized-line-5-oil-tunnel/.
To learn more about Enbridge’s announcement, visit enbridge.com/media-center/media-statements/enbridge-selects-contractors-for-great-lakes-tunnel-project.
To watch the Mackinac Straits Corridor Authority meeting from March 6, visit livestream.com/mdot/mscameeting03062020/videos/202597455.
