Enbridge is awaiting permits in that project, which aims to replace the aging dual span pipes at the bottom of the Straits of Mackinac with a new pipe running through a tunnel beneath the lakebottom. Enbridge officials have said they plan to start building the tunnel this year and finish by 2024, but the company is still awaiting state and federal permits it needs to begin construction.
Citing a litany of easement violations and broader concerns that the pipeline poses a dire risk of an oil spill, Whitmer notified Enbridge in November that she was revoking and terminating the 1953 easement that allows the company to operate Line 5 in the Straits. Whitmer ordered the Straits portion shut down by May.