September 9, 2026 Traverse City, Mich. — Today, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and her administration issued a consequential new statement on Enbridge’s proposed Line 5 pipeline tunnel through the Straits of Mackinac, telling the Canadian company that it’s time to pull back from its tunnel plan that will put the Great Lakes at risk for… tunnel game is up; it’s time for a new solution”>Read more »
Every day, hundreds of thousands of barrels of crude oil and natural gas liquids (NGLs) flow across the Straits of Mackinac through two 20-inch pipelines that have proven vulnerable to anchors dropped by passing freighters and barges. There’s a broad consensus for the need to remove the aging pipelines and reduce the risk of a… tunnel/" title="ReadThere is no such thing as a free lunch – or a free tunnel.”>Read more »
Fast-tracked under a January 2025 presidential executive order declaring a trumped-up “energy emergency,” the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has announced its decision to approve the Canadian company Enbridge’s pipeline tunnel through Lake Michigan at the Straits of Mackinac. The proposed tunnel would house the Enbridge Line 5 pipelines, which terminate in Sarnia, Ontario, and… tunnel-permit/" title="ReadFlow statement on U.S. Army Corps tunnel permit”>Read more »
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 31, 2026 Michigan Supreme Court upholds the public’s rights to the Great Lakes, orders new review of Line 5 tunnel. Traverse City, Mich., July 31, 2026 — The Michigan Supreme Court ruled that Michigan regulators failed to properly weigh the Great Lakes’ public trust protections and environmental impacts before approving Enbridge… tunnel permit decision”>Read more »
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 15, 2026 TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — In a pair of key permit decisions announced today by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) regarding Enbridge’s proposed pipeline tunnel through the Straits of Mackinac, the state has failed to carry out its duties under the Michigan Wetlands Protection Act… tunnel-permits/" title="ReadFlow Water Advocates statement on Whitmer administration’s Line 5 tunnel permit decisions.”>Read more »
Watch the recording Last week, over 200 participants gathered over Zoom for the public hearing on the proposed reissuance of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Individual Permit (NPDES) for Enbridge’s proposed Line 5 tunnel through the Straits of Mackinac. Line 5 is a pair of aging oil pipelines that travels across the bottom of… tunnel-public-hearing/" title="ReadDeep concerns raised at Line 5 tunnel public hearing”>Read more »
Register Now Flow Water Advocates and our allies are challenging the MPSC’s Line 5 tunnel permit in the Michigan Supreme Court, and you’re invited to a gathering and press conference in Lansing on March 11. Join in community at Lansing’s Central United Methodist Church at 9:00am to listen to oral arguments via livestream, make posters,… tunnel-appeal-join-us-in-lansing-on-march-11/" title="ReadLine 5 tunnel appeal: Join us in Lansing on March 11!”>Read more »
Download Flow’s reply brief (PDF) Traverse City, Mich. — On January 23, Flow Water Advocates (“Flow”) filed its reply to the arguments raised by Enbridge Limited Energy LLC, the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC), and other Appellees in Flow’s Michigan Supreme Court case challenging the MPSC’s issuance of a permit to the company for its… tunnel-reply-brief/" title="ReadFlow files reply brief in Line 5 tunnel permit case before the Michigan Supreme Court”>Read more »
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 19, 2025 Lansing, Mich. – The Michigan Supreme Court has granted a landmark application for leave to appeal, paving the way for a review of the Michigan Public Service Commission’s (MPSC) decision to approve a permit for Enbridge’s proposed oil pipeline tunnel in the Straits of Mackinac. This order, issued on… tunnel-permit/" title="ReadMichigan Supreme Court grants review of Line 5 tunnel permit”>Read more »
PRESS RELEASE: SEPTEMBER 9, 2025 Download the written comments to EGLE (PDF) Traverse City, Mich. – On August 29, 2025, Flow Water Advocates, a Great Lakes water protection organization, together with the Sierra Club and Surfrider Foundation, submitted written comments on Enbridge’s application for a Water Resources Permit for its proposed Line 5 tunnel project… tunnel-permit/" title="ReadFlow, Sierra Club, and Surfrider Foundation to EGLE: Reject the Line 5 tunnel permit.”>Read more »
