FILE - In this June 8, 2017, file photo, fresh nuts, bolts and fittings are ready to be added to the east leg of the pipeline near St. Ignace, Mich., as Enbridge prepares to test the east and west sides of the Line 5 pipeline under the Straits of Mackinac in Mackinaw City, Mich.
The groups also contend the commission failed to adopt any methodology to measure how the gases could impact climate change and didn’t consider what could happen if the pipeline was shut down. Enbridge spokesperson Ryan Duffy said in an email that the commission carefully examined all aspects of the tunnel project. He questioned why the groups would want to overturn that decision. Even if they prevail, the line will continue to operate in the straits, Duffy said.
Enbridge officials maintain the line is structurally sound, but they still reached an agreement with Republican then-Gov. Rick Snyder’s administration in 2018 that calls for the company to build the protective tunnel at a cost of $500 million.