密歇根最高法院以6比1的多数裁定，要求州监管机构重新审视加拿大能源公司恩桥(Enbridge)在大湖地区铺设油管隧道的关键许可证[1]。法院认为密歇根公共服务委员会在2023年批准该许可时，未能充分评估隧道项目是否会延长管线使用寿命、增加环境风险，以及对大湖公众权益的影响[1]。
Line 5管线由恩桥公司运营，已有73年历史，在大湖地下4英里处运行，日均输运超过50万桶石油，连接威斯康星州Superior和加拿大安大略省Sarnia[1]。环保人士和密歇根州州长Gretchen Whitmer自2020年起反对该项目，担忧在水道中输送大量石油存在严重溢油风险[1]。该诉讼由四个密歇根部落和多个环保组织提起[1]。
恩桥公司发言人Ryan Duffy表示该项目已经过近十年的评估[1]。
Michigan's highest court has ruled that state regulators must reconsider a critical permit for a Canadian energy company's oil pipeline tunnel beneath the Great Lakes.[1] The Michigan Supreme Court voted 6-1 to reject the decision made by the state's Public Service Commission in 2023, determining that regulators failed to adequately assess whether the tunnel project would extend the pipeline's operational life, increase environmental hazards, and impact public rights over the Great Lakes.[1]
Line 5, owned by Enbridge and operating for 73 years, runs approximately 4 miles beneath the lake bed, transporting more than 500,000 barrels of crude oil daily from Superior, Wisconsin, to Sarnia, Ontario.[1] Environmental advocates and Governor Gretchen Whitmer have opposed the project, citing the severe risk of an oil spill in the waterway.[1] Whitmer has attempted to shut down the pipeline since 2020, and the lawsuit challenging the permit was filed by four Michigan tribes and multiple environmental organizations.[1] Enbridge spokesperson Ryan Duffy stated that the company has been evaluating the project for nearly a decade.[1]