The environmental review of Enbridge's plan for a Line 5 pipeline tunnel under the Straits of Mackinac will take much longer than planned, until spring 2025 according to the US Army Corps of Engineers.
The Corps, responsible for Clean Water Act permitting of construction projects, came up with a timeline that envisioned a proposed environmental impact statement (EIS) being issued in late 2023. Now the proposed EIS will take as much as a year and a half longer under the revised schedule. The added time by the Corps moves release of the proposed EIS from a year before the 2024 presidential election to several months after the election.
Enbridge expressed disappointment with the extended timeline. “The Great Lakes Tunnel Project covers only approximately four miles in length, will require no construction within the waters of the straits, and is anticipated to impact less than one-quarter acre of wetlands,” a company statement said.
Enbridge submitted its application for the project to the Corps of Engineers in April 2020. Now it appears the Corps will take 6 years to review the project and issue a decision, Enbridge said. In the past, the company has said construction of the tunnel project would take about 4 years. Under the new timeline, that would mean completion in 2030.
