US Army Corps moves to fast-track Enbridge Line 5 tunnel permit
The US Army Corps of Engineers will fast track its review of a key permit to allow Enbridge Inc. to build a protective tunnel around its aging Line 5 pipeline transporting oil and NGLs under the Straits of Mackinac in the Great Lakes.
The Army Corps said it granted Enbridge’s emergency permit request under terms of President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 “national energy emergency” declaration designed to expedite domestic fossil fuel production and infrastructure (OGJ Online, Jan. 21, 2025).
The Enbridge tunnel project addresses “an energy supply situation which would result in an unacceptable hazard to life, a significant loss of property, or an immediate, unforeseen, and significant economic hardship if corrective action requiring a permit is not undertaken” quickly, the Corps’ Detroit office said in an Apr. 15 notice.
The controversial project involves boring a 3.6-mile tunnel under the lake bed of the Straits of Mackinac to house a 30-in. OD oil and natural gas liquids line. The proposed pipeline segment within the tunnel would replace two existing 20-in. OD pipelines buried close to shore, the Army Corps explained.
Enbridge, in a statement, said the project is designed to “make a safe pipeline safer,” and noted it has worked on tunnel permits for over 5 years.
Michigan regulators approved Enbridge's application to build the $750 million tunnel in 2023, but the project still required an Army Corps’ permit (OGJ Online, Dec. 4, 2023).
Native American tribes and environmental groups oppose the tunnel, citing the potential risk to the Great Lakes. Six Michigan tribes that participated in the Corp’s years-long environmental review withdrew their cooperation in March saying they expected the Trump administration to rubber stamp the project regardless of their concerns.
Cathy Landry | Washington Correspondent
Cathy Landry has worked over 20 years as a journalist, including 17 years as an energy reporter with Platts News Service (now S&P Global) in Washington and London.
She has served as a wire-service reporter, general news and sports reporter for local newspapers and a feature writer for association and company publications.
Cathy has deep public policy experience, having worked 15 years in Washington energy circles.
She earned a master’s degree in government from The Johns Hopkins University and studied newspaper journalism and psychology at Syracuse University.
