Line 5

The Michigan attorney general and Enbridge Energy have agreed to put challenges in state courts on hold while it argues critical legal questions in federal courts.

Michigan officials have been trying for years to shut down Enbridge's Line 5 over claims that it is unsafe and liable to spill petroleum products into the Great Lakes

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in February on a key question that could decide whether state or federal courts will determine the fate of Enbridge Energy’s controversial Line 5.

Enbridge sought to stop the state from trying any further to shut down the pipeline, which in Wisconsin, runs through the Upper Peninsula, the Straits of Mackinac, and Lower Peninsula, before ending in Ontario, Canada.

Public comments are due by the end of the week after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposed a tunnel alternative last month.

Those for and those against constructing a tunnel under the Straits of Mackinac are making their cases. A comment period for the necessary permits from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy ends this Friday.

A circuit court judge in Lansing has denied a request by Enbridge to put a hold on the state court case filed by Attorney General Dana Nessel. The AG took Enbridge to court six years ago.

The massive oil spill in the Kalamazoo River 15 years ago polluted the water and shoreline and left oil-coated wildlife. More than a million gallons of oil was recovered along a more than 35 mile stretch of the river.

The National Wildlife Federation says Michigan's environment department should fully review what damage drilling the tunnel for a new pipeline segment might cause.

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy is taking comments and has scheduled virtual meetings for the public regarding permits to build a tunnel under the Straits of Mackinac for the oil and natural gas liquids pipeline, Line 5.