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Judge: Michigan agency can evaluate Great Lakes tunnel plan

Posted at 9:39 AM, Oct 24, 2020
and last updated 2020-10-24 09:39:51-04

A judge says the Michigan Public Service Commission has some authority over Enbridge’s plans to build an oil pipeline tunnel beneath the channel that connects Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.

State administrative law judge Dennis Mack ruled Friday that the commission can consider whether relocating part of Enbridge's Line 5 to the tunnel would be in the public interest.

But he says the agency should not consider broader issues such as how the project would affect climate change.

Enbridge is seeking state and federal permission to move a segment of Line 5 that runs through the Straits of Mackinac to a tunnel.