A Court of Claims judge ruled the law that created the Mackinac Straits Corridor Authority is valid. The authority will oversee a controversial tunnel to house a new section of the aging Line 5 pipeline.
Line 5 carries crude oil and natural gas liquids under the Straits of Mackinac.
At the center of the dispute is a part of the law that says the members of the authority are to serve six-year terms.
Both parties and the judge agreed that the six-year term limits are unconstitutional. But the plaintiffs argued that the whole section of law creating the board should be invalid as a result – including their agreement to build the new tunnel.
The judge disagreed. He says the members appointed by former Governor Rick Snyder can stay for four years without invalidating the rest of the law.
