By DREYMA BERONJA

Journal Staff Writer

MARQUETTE — Some Michigan residents are continuing the effort to push back against a proposed Line 5 tunnel project.

Four Tribal Nations filed a notice on Friday that they would appeal the Michigan Public Service Commission’s recent approval of a permit for Canadian-based company Enbridge to build the Line 5 tunnel project beneath the Straits of Mackinac.

According to a press release from Earthjustice and the Native American Rights Fund, representing the Bay Mills Indian Community, the Bay Mills Indian Community, Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians and Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi have lived on the lands of present-day Michigan since “time immemorial” and have opposed the Line 5 tunnel project before the MPSC.

The MPSC approved a siting application filed by Enbridge Energy earlier this month for a proposed replacement segment of pipelines now located on top of the the lakebed along the Straits of Mackinac, replacing them with a single pipeline in a tunnel deep below the lakebed, subject to the company obtaining additional government approvals and permits. There are also conditions related to the tunnel’s safety and construction.

“It’s time to build the tunnel so that we can protect the waters of the Great Lakes, the environment and the people who use the precious waters, while keeping energy flowing to this region,” Enbridge Senior Vice President of Public Affairs, Communications and Sustainability Mike Fernandez said in a news release. “This tunnel is really a win-win solution for Michiganders and the region.”

Bay Mills Indian Community President Whitney Gravelle said in the Earthjustice and Native American Rights Fund press release that the MPSC made a “bad decision, plain and simple.”

“Although we fought to be heard, they put on their blinders and chose to ignore the critical perspective of Tribal Nations throughout the Great Lakes. Indigenous communities have not once been consulted since 1953 when this pipeline was first constructed,” she said. “Let me be clear: Line 5 remains a threat to not only the tribes, but anyone and everyone who utilizes the Great Lakes. The question is not if the pipeline will leak, it is when.”

Gravelle continued saying that studies have shown that Line 5 could be decommissioned with almost no impact on jobs, gas prices or fuel supply.

“Yet the MPSC did not even pause to ask if we still need this pipeline. Instead, they approved a permit to extend the life of Line 5 for another century. They are prolonging the danger of another oil spill in the Great Lakes, the source of 84% of North America’s surface freshwater,” she said. “The tunnel project is based on a flawed design that has never been tried anywhere else and would produce a mountain of waste rock as tall as a twenty-story building and as long as a football field. Worst of all, it would perpetuate the transfer of 23 million gallons of oil per day just when we need to switch to clean energy sources. The MPSC’s decision is a disaster for all of us.”

Enbridge Spokesperson Ryan Duffy said an email that the company would be reviewing the appeal.

“The decision by the Michigan Public Service Commission is a major step forward in making the Great Lakes Tunnel Project a reality, protecting the Great Lakes and securing the vital energy people in Michigan and surrounding region rely on every day,” in an official statement from Duffy on behalf of Enbridge. “With the MPSC’s decision, the Michigan agencies involved in the permitting process have given the go ahead for this critical project. We recognize the tremendous investment of time and deliberation by the MPSC and staff leading to this decision. The MPSC carefully examined this complex issue and considered many viewpoints, questions, concerns and ideas.”

While the MPSC has approved a siting application, Enbridge does not have the final permit needed from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to build the proposed Line 5 tunnel project.

“As we appeal the MPSC’s disastrous decision, we also demand and expect that the Army Corps conduct a thorough and meaningful environmental impact statement and uphold the treaty trust responsibilities of the United States,” Gravelle said. “We cannot allow history to repeat itself through the destruction of sacred land for private profit.”

Opening briefs will be sumitted to MPSC in early 2024.

Dreyma Beronja can be reached at 906-228-2500 ext. 548.

Their email address is dberonj@miningjournal.net.