Tribal leaders rallied on the Michigan Capitol steps Wednesday, Aug. 26, demanding the state block Enbridge's Line 5 pipeline from operating under the Straits of Mackinac.

The rally, organized by the Anishinaabe Friendship Center in Lansing, came less than a month after the Michigan Supreme Court vacated a key state permit for Enbridge's proposed tunnel replacement in a 6-1 ruling on July 31.

"They told everyone, 'We know what we're doing. This is great. This is fine.' And here we see homes had to be evacuated," said Dr. Nichole Keway Biber, a tribal citizen of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, according to WLNS. She was referring to a recent incident in Wisconsin where a runaway semi-truck struck a pipeline at an Enbridge Line 5 construction site, triggering a gas leak and forcing evacuations.

Biber said Line 5, a 645-mile pipeline built in 1953 that carries crude oil and natural gas liquids from Superior, Wisconsin, to Sarnia, Ontario, has leaked more than a million gallons of oil into sensitive ecosystems over its lifetime.

Court ruling blocks tunnel

The July 31 ruling, written by Justice Elizabeth Welch, found the Michigan Public Service Commission's 2023 permit review was too narrow, according to Bridge Michigan. The commission failed to consider whether the tunnel would harm public rights to the Great Lakes. It also failed to study whether Line 5 would shut down if the tunnel is never built.

The case now returns to the commission with orders to "fully assess the Replacement Project's potential harms." No timeline for that review has been set.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a separate federal permit for the tunnel earlier in August, WLNS reported. Construction cannot proceed without the state permit.

Engineering and cultural concerns

Brian O'Mara, an environmental consultant with Agate Harbor Advisors LLC who has worked on tunnel projects, raised safety concerns at the rally.

"I've seen what can go wrong on these tunnels; they do flood, they do collapse," O'Mara told WILX.

Winnay Wemigwase, of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, said the tunnel project's mitigation plan would require disturbing Indigenous ancestors buried near the Straits, according to WILX.

Enbridge responds

Enbridge spokesperson Ryan Duffy expressed disappointment with the court ruling and said the company is assessing its legal options, according to Bridge Michigan. In a statement, the company said it is "committed to protecting Michigan's lakes, resources and communities while providing safe and reliable energy to the region."

Enbridge first proposed the tunnel in 2018 under agreements with then-Gov. Rick Snyder. The project was originally pitched as a four-year, $500 million effort expected online by 2024, according to WLNS.

The pipeline continues to operate despite a 2020 shutdown order from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. A federal judge ruled that federal pipeline safety law leaves Michigan no authority to order a shutdown; that ruling is on appeal, according to Bridge Michigan.

Separately, on July 30, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit upheld a ruling that Enbridge trespassed on the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa's reservation in Wisconsin and ordered the pipeline rerouted. The court found easements permitting Line 5 across tribal lands expired in 2013.

Four Michigan tribal nations and several environmental groups challenged the original 2023 permit, according to Bridge Michigan. Rally organizers said they do not know when the next court date will be and urged residents to pressure state lawmakers to act, according to WILX.