MPSC to Hold Virtual Public Hearing on Line 5 Tunnel

FILE – This July 19, 2002, file photo, shows the Mackinac Bridge that spans the Straits of Mackinac from Mackinaw City, Mich. Oil transport company Enbridge says Wednesday, a gap has opened between a section of its Line 5 pipeline and the lake bottom in Michigan’s Straits of Mackinac. Erosion has washed away sediments beneath the pipeline, opening a gap that exceeds the 75-foot limit set under a state easement. The company says it’s awaiting government permits to install screw anchors for additional support in that spot and others along the underwater line. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)

The Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) will hold an electronic public hearing on Aug. 24 to take input on Enbridge Energy LP’s request for siting authority of its plans to relocate a segment of the Line 5 pipeline to a tunnel beneath the Straits of Mackinac.

In June, the MPSC established a full hearing process on Enbridge Energy’s proposed relocation of approximately four miles of the Line 5 pipeline, the 645-mile interstate pipeline that spans both Michigan peninsulas to transport light crude oil, natural gas liquids and propane. Enbridge proposes replacing two 20-inch pipelines that now rest on the lakebed with a single 30-inch pipeline that would be housed in a proposed utility tunnel 60 to 250 feet beneath the lakebed. The proposed pipeline would involve a new easement and a 99-year lease of public trust property.

The hearing will take place from 4:00 to 7:00 P.M. virtually with public participation by telephone. Call in details can be found at michigan.gov/MPSCLine5 and looking under Significant Upcoming Dates.