It’s been a long, winding road for Enbridge’s Line 5, the 645-mile 540 Mb/d pipeline that’s been moving light crude and NGLs from Superior, WI, to Sarnia, ON, for more than seven decades. The line — and particularly the portion that crosses under the Straits of Mackinac — continues to be one of the most hotly contested pieces of energy infrastructure in North America, facing a barrage of legal challenges, political pushback, and environmental scrutiny. Now the project’s latest chapter is unfolding, and it’s a big one: the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has announced it will fast-track the permitting process for Enbridge’s proposed tunnel beneath the Straits, a move made possible by “emergency powers” linked to an executive order issued by President Trump in the name of safeguarding U.S. energy security. During yesterday's announcment, Corps officials were not clear about the new timeline for the permitting decision which prior to the fast-tracking shift into overdrive was not expected until early 2026.
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Down To The Waterline - Michigan Gives Line 5 a Nudge, But Pipeline Still Ensnared by Controversy
After a roughly three-year wait for a critical state permit, Enbridge’s Great Lakes Tunnel and Pipe Replacement project for its Line 5 pipeline across the Straits of Mackinac in Michigan has taken a step forward. The Army Corps of Engineers’ permits for the tunnel project would seem to be the only major obstacle standing in the way of construction, but there may well be more challenges ahead. Like a few other oil and gas projects — namely, Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) and Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) — Line 5 has become entangled in controversy, including local opposition worried that a spill would irreparably damage their surroundings and spoil the state’s natural resources. In today’s RBN blog, we take a closer look at the Line 5 project, its next steps, and the opposition it continues to encounter.
I've Got to Have You - Enbridge's Line 5 Faces New Scrutiny
The Dakota Access Pipeline isn’t the only interstate liquids pipe facing an uncertain future. The fate of Enbridge’s Line 5, which batches either light crude oil or a propane/butanes mix from Superior, WI, through Michigan and into Ontario, also hangs in the balance as the company renews its battle with Michigan’s top elected officials to keep the 67-year-old pipeline open and its effort win regulatory approval to replace the pipe’s most important water crossing. Line 5 supporters say that closing the 540-Mb/d pipeline would slash supplies to residential and commercial propane consumers in the Great Lakes State, steam crackers in Ontario, and refineries and gasoline blenders in three states and two Canadian provinces. Critics of Line 5 counter that there are plenty of supply alternatives. Today we discuss the pipeline, what it transports, and who it serves, as well as challenges it faces.
Tunnel of Crude - Enbridge and Michigan's Long-Awaited Deal on Line 5
For 65 years, Enbridge’s Line 5 has been a critically important conduit for moving Western Canadian and Bakken crude oil and NGLs east across Michigan’s upper and lower peninsulas and into Ontario, where the now-540-Mb/d pipeline feeds Sarnia refineries and petrochemical plants. Some crude from Line 5 also can flow east from Sarnia to Montreal refineries on Line 9. But Enbridge has been under increasing pressure to shut down Line 5 over concern that a rupture under the Straits of Mackinac might cause major environmental damage. At long last, the state of Michigan and Enbridge have reached an agreement to replace the section of Line 5 under the straits by the mid-2020s, and to take steps in the interim to enhance the existing pipeline’s safety. In today’s blog, we consider the significance of the Enbridge pipeline and of the newly reached accord.
