Decision on Great Lakes oil tunnel delayed

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — A federal review of plans for a Great Lakes oil pipeline tunnel will take more than a year longer than originally planned, officials said Thursday, likely delaying completion of the project — if approved — until 2030 or later.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had intended to release a draft report later this year on how the proposed tunnel beneath Michigan’s Straits of Mackinac would affect the environment.

Enbridge Energy wants it to house a section of its Line 5 oil pipeline that crosses the bottom of the straits connecting Lake Huron and Lake Michigan.

But under the new timeline, the report won’t be issued until spring 2025. An approval decision would be expected in early 2026.

The Corps’ Detroit district office said it revised the schedule after receiving more than 17,000 public comments during an initial “scoping” period.

The agency in December ordered Enbridge to redo measurement of wetlands that could be damaged from roads and structures for tunnel construction.

“We greatly appreciate the meaningful input received throughout scoping and will use this information to shape studies and continuing consultations throughout development of our draft environmental impact statement,” District Commander Lt. Col. Brett Boyle said.

The slowdown is a setback for a project that Enbridge originally planned to complete as early as next year, spending about $500 million. Mike Fernandez, a senior vice president of the Calgary, Alberta-based company, said the cost has risen but did not have a new estimate.

He said Enbridge remains committed to the tunnel for the underwater segment of Line 5 that Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, environmental groups and Native American tribes want shut down.

They contend the nearly 4-mile section is vulnerable to a rupture. Line 5 moves about 23 million gallons of oil and natural gas liquids daily between Superior, Wisconsin, and Sarnia, Ontario.

Enbridge insists the nearly 70-year-old dual pipes are in good condition and monitored regularly. But the company agreed in 2018 with Whitmer’s predecessor, Republican Rick Snyder, to drill a tunnel that would encase a new pipeline section in concrete.