Stockbridge, Mich. — U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin on Saturday defended the environmental safety of Enbridge's planned tunnel beneath the Straits of Mackinac while visiting an Enbridge site in southern Michigan, a stop that lands in the middle of an intensifying fight over the future of Line 5.
Zeldin made the comments weeks after Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced that the state's environmental regulators would reconsider a state environmental permit given to Enbridge for the Great Lakes Tunnel Project, which would house a new segment of Line 5 beneath the Straits of Mackinac.
Speaking at the conclusion of an energy roundtable with U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett, R-Charlotte, at Enbridge's Stockbridge Terminal, Zeldin said the federal EPA, in collaboration with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, performed "thorough due diligence" in assessing the safety of the proposed tunnel.
"The federal agencies worked together over the course of years, over the course of multiple administrations," Zeldin said. "And at the conclusion of that process of due diligence, the permits were issued. I have not heard of any second guessing whatsoever of the conclusion as a result of that very deliberative, engaged process."
Zeldin argued that pipelines, in general, represent the safest mode of transporting oil and natural gas liquids and should not be viewed as controversially as they are.
"This is a project that is a long time coming, with great need for us and our country," Zeldin said of Enbridge's proposed tunnel. "It's important for our economy. It's important for our national security."
State re-review adds years to timeline
The federal backing comes as the tunnel faces significant state-level setbacks. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, after a years-long review, granted approvals in August for the construction of a roughly 4-mile tunnel beneath the Straits of Mackinac to house a new segment of Line 5.
The tunnel was agreed to between Enbridge and former Gov. Rick Snyder in 2018, after years of concerns over the pipeline's current location. Enbridge's more than 70-year-old twin oil pipelines sit on the bottomlands of the Straits of Mackinac at the nexus of Lakes Huron and Michigan and were struck by an anchor in 2018.
The tunnel's federal permits are secured, but it encountered significant state-level setbacks over the summer. The Michigan Supreme Court ordered further environmental review of a Michigan Public Service Commission approval for its construction. Weeks later, Whitmer and the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy said the agency would reconsider a separate state environmental permit based on the high court's decision. Those decisions are expected to add several years to the tunnel's pre-construction timeline.
Congressional and legal battles
The visit also took on a political dimension. Zeldin's stop alongside Barrett comes as the Republican congressman is locked in a competitive race against climate activist Will Lawrence in the Lansing-based 7th Congressional District. Lawrence, a Lansing Democrat, was arrested near the Stockbridge site during a 2013 protest in which he chained himself to Enbridge equipment. His conviction related to the arrest was later expunged.
Barrett underscored the need for Line 5 during the press conference, noting it not only transports light crude oil but also carries the natural gas liquids critical to a large portion of Michigan's propane supply.
"There are some that want to just completely shut off pipelines altogether, and they do not have realistic viewpoints as to how we achieve the energy needs we have," Barrett said.
Separately, Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel has been locked in a multi-year legal battle with Enbridge as she has sought to shutter the current operating pipeline over safety concerns. Nessel has, so far, been unsuccessful. The moves by Nessel and Whitmer to shut down the line prompted the government of Canada to invoke a pipeline treaty to stop their efforts. Treaty negotiations are ongoing.
Environmental groups push back
The Stockbridge Terminal tanks temporarily store crude oil as it moves through Lines 17, 78, and 79. During the energy roundtable, stakeholders in the oil and gas industry also spoke of the need for new refinery capacity in the United States, the potential for separate environmental guidelines for small producers, and problems associated with southeast Michigan's switch to summer gasoline blends.
Environmental groups criticized Zeldin's visit and argued the EPA under the Trump administration should instead stand for "Everybody Pollutes Again."
"They have forced dirty, expensive coal plants to stay open, gutted rules that protected our air and water, and bowed to the oil and gas industry bankrolling their campaigns," said Tom Lenard, director for Climate Power Michigan. "We are all paying the price for their disastrous policies with higher costs and increased medical bills."