Request comes after Michigan Supreme Court decision overturned another Line 5 permit approval
September 10, 2026
Lansing, MI. – Today, four environmental organizations jointly filed a petition with Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) requesting a contested case hearing on a Water Resource Permit the agency approved for Enbridge’s Line 5 Tunnel Project under the Straits of Mackinac on the grounds that the permit violates environmental statutes and regulations including the Michigan Environmental Protection Act (MEPA) and the public trust doctrine. The Environmental Law & Policy Center (ELPC), Flow Water Advocates, Michigan Climate Action Network (MiCAN), and the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) contend that EGLE’s July 15 permit approval violates Michigan law as recently interpreted and applied by a July 31 Michigan Supreme Court ruling, which sent that case back to the Michigan Public Service Commission for a more thorough review of the proposed tunnel’s impact on Michiganders and the environment and analysis of alternatives.
The groups contend Enbridge’s Tunnel Project will disrupt fisheries and aquatic resources, including wetlands and associated plants and wildlife habitat, and is not in the public interest. They assert feasible and prudent alternatives to the project exist.
Separately, Four Tribal Nations in Michigan have also filed their own petition for a contested case on the EGLE Water Resource Permit.
Dave Scott, ELPC Senior Attorney, said: “ELPC and our partners are continuing to engage in the legal process challenging the EGLE permit because it is deficient under Michigan environmental laws. That’s even clearer after the Michigan Supreme Court’s recent opinion. Michigan law requires a robust environmental review and analysis of alternatives to the tunnel. We look forward to presenting our arguments and we hope that EGLE will do the right thing and ultimately deny this legally deficient permit.”
Denise Keele, Ph.D., MiCAN Executive Director, said: “The proposed tunnel has massive water quality impacts and would lock Michigan into unnecessary fossil-fuel infrastructure for generations to come. There are much safer alternatives that the public has demanded for over a decade and it is time for Michigan to right this wrong. We are standing with the people, the environment, and Tribal nations in bringing this action to ensure a sustainable future for all Michiganders.”
Beth Wallace, NWF Great Lakes Climate and Energy Director, said: “Enbridge permits are a clear attempt to dismantle critical protections for people, wildlife and our Great Lakes. NWF looks forward to working alongside our partners and the unified Tribal nations to ensure these permits are invalidated – focusing on the orderly decommissioning of Line 5.”
Liz Kirkwood, Flow Water Advocates Executive Director, said: “The EGLE tunnel permit suffers from the same deficiencies as the recently overturned MPSC permit. In its landmark 6-1 decision in July, the Michigan Supreme Court affirmed public trust rights to Great Lakes waters and bottomlands, and the duty of state agencies to fully consider public trust and environmental impacts, as well as feasible alternatives. Our Great Lakes are too precious to allow a permit that falls short of this standard to proceed.”
