The Michigan Supreme Court has ordered state regulators to reconsider a permit for a tunnel carrying an oil pipeline under the Great Lakes.

The analysis was requested by Oil & Water Don't Mix, a coalition of environmental, business and tribal organizations. Enbridge spokesman Ryan Duffy said the tunnel plans were developed in consultation with experienced geologists and engineers. During an online news conference, O'Mara said the tunnel plans had changed considerably since a 2017 assessment, which described the project as feasible and low-risk. The department plans to issue rulings by the end of the year. Spokesman Nick Assendelft said department staffers would consider the findings of the Oil & Water Don't Mix reviewers along with other public comments.

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, the Michigan attorney general's office and the state Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy. A state judge granted a request from Nessel to close the line June 25 after Enbridge reported the damage. The Enbridge report said the nature of the damage and drag marks in the lakebed pointed to a cable or anchor from a small or moderately sized vessel. Enbridge says it has stepped up security measures in the straits since a 6-ton (5.44-metric tonne) barge and tugboat anchor struck Line 5 in April 2018. They have focused primarily on avoiding contact with larger vessels but are being expanded to prevent encounters with smaller ones, Duffy said.

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer demanded Friday that Enbridge Energy provide proof that the damage to one of its dual oil pipelines under the Straits of Mackinac will not pose a threat to the area. Whitmer said the damage and how it occurred calls into question the viability of the pipeline. Thats why I am requesting Enbridge turn over to the State of Michigan all relevant information about this most recent damage and provide affirmative evidence that establishes the integrity of the pipeline, Whitmer said in a statement. Duffy clarified that the problem does not affect the pipeline, which he said was shut down as a precaution. The EPA determined that Enbridge neglected to properly evaluate thousands of shallow dents on its Lakehead Pipeline System, which runs across northern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin.

Gretchen Whitmer demanded Friday that Enbridge Energy provide proof that the damage to one of its dual oil pipelines under the Straits of Mackinac will not pose a threat to the area. Whitmer said the damage and how it occurred calls into question the viability of the pipeline. Thats why I am requesting Enbridge turn over to the State of Michigan all relevant information about this most recent damage and provide affirmative evidence that establishes the integrity of the pipeline, Whitmer said in a statement. The company paid $177 million and pledged to improve pipeline safety under that agreement. Mike Shriberg of the National Wildlife Federal and a former member of Michigans Pipeline Safety Advisory Board says the problems with Line 5 reported Thursday should result in its demise.

MACKINAW CITY, Mich. – A 200-foot-long broken boring pipe remains embedded in the Straits of Mackinac and may not be recoverable by a company that operates a fuel pipeline, officials said. Enbridge Inc. retrieved a broken 45-foot rod in December and told state regulators that a pipe of similar length remained. But the leftover pipe actually is 200 feet long, the Detroit Free Press reported Wednesday. The broken pipe was related to a project last summer. “I don't expect much would be done (to recover) that remaining 200 feet of grout rod," Haas said.