Fight Against Line 5 Pipeline

Although Line 5 has experienced brief periods of interruption, it is still functioning. It was halted most recently in August 2026, when it was struck near Saxon, Wisconsin, and roughly 1.3 million gallons of natural gas liquids were released. Enbridge restored it to service through a temporary bypass in mid-September. It remains in operation at this time.

Advocates argued that the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) improperly applied the Michigan Environmental Protection Act and the Public Trust Doctrine, and that alternatives to the tunnel were not properly considered. The Michigan Supreme Court agreed, vacating the commission’s approval and sending it back to the MPSC for more rigorous review.  The commission must now reconsider the permit according to the standards set out in the new ruling.

Yes, the tunnel could still be built. It’s faced years of challenges from tribes and environmental groups, but there are still multiple pending cases and permits that could ultimately be approved. The Whitmer administration has approved several key permits, and the fate of the Michigan Public Service Commission permit is still unresolved.

There are multiple legal actions underway. Attorney General Dana Nessel filed a lawsuit after a widely publicized 2019 anchor strike on the Line 5 pipeline. That case was remanded back to state courts in 2026 by the U.S. Supreme Court. Alternatively, Enbridge sued Governor Whitmer after she and the DNR revoked the easement for the Line 5 pipeline in December 2020. A federal judge sided with Enbridge and the case is being appealed in the Sixth Circuit.

For decades, Line 5 operated on the Bad River Band’s land under an easement. In 2019 — after this easement expired — the tribe sued Enbridge for trespassing on its lands. In 2026, a court reaffirmed that Enbridge was trespassing, although they were granted time to complete a controversial reroute around the Bad River Band’s reservation. The new path still represents a threat to tribal watersheds and wetlands.

Line 5 was built in 1953 to transport petroleum and natural gas products from Superior, Wisconsin to Sarnia, Canada. It runs through Michigan’s Upper Peninsula until it reaches the Straits of Mackinac, then crosses underwater and into the Lower Peninsula, resting exposed on the lakebed under the Straits of Mackinac. Enbridge, a Canadian company, owns and operates the pipeline.

The Straits of Mackinac have been called one of the worst places in the Great Lakes for an oil spill. The currents and its sensitive location make the potential economic, social, and environmental impacts particularly devastating. Even a moderate spill could cause $6 billion worth of direct economic damage. A spill would also likely halt shipping through the Straits, which could shave $45 billion off the nation’s GDP within days.

According to the International Joint Commission, all levels of the aquatic food chain would be affected, from plankton to fish to the birds and mammals that eat them. The Great Lakes supply drinking water to nearly 40 million people, which sharply raises the stakes of any spill, especially since currents could carry oil toward drinking water intakes.

Line 5 is responsible for an estimated 27 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually. Even in a theoretical world where petroleum products and oil could be transported with zero spill risk, climate change would still pose an unacceptable risk to our communities.

 

Beyond that, the tunnel doesn’t remove the danger. The pipeline would operate in a narrow space under the Straits, potentially bundled with other utilities, making it a dangerous explosion risk. The tunnel is also just a small part of Line 5. The pipeline continues to spill millions of gallons in other spots along its route as long as it operates.

 

Tunnel construction would require the destruction of wetlands and the discharge of millions of gallons of wastewater into the Great Lakes. One accident is all it takes to damage the lakes for generations — all while real, clean alternatives exist.

When Line 5 was shut down for weeks in June 2020 there was no impact on gas prices in Michigan. On June 8, 2022, federal court documents showed that Enbridge’s own expert stated that the future impact might be ½ a cent per gallon.

The U.P. Propane Research Team says the U.P. is ready for the Line 5 shutdown. As per the Upper Peninsula Energy Task Force Committee Recommendations, the volume of propane offloaded in the Upper Peninsula is 0.25% of the volume of Line 5.

We are always updating our action page to include critical Line 5 petitions and letter campaigns. Our events page also has the latest in-person actions, many of which are related to Line 5. Check it out to learn more.

If you want to take a step beyond attending an event or sending a letter, consider signing up to volunteer with MiCAN. Once you fill out the form, a member of our engagement team will be in touch.