Midwest Native communities oppose newly issued permit for updates on oil and gas line under waterways

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a permit plan to update an older segment of a pipeline that carries crude oil and natural gas 645 miles from Superior, Wisconsin, through Michigan, to Sarnia, Ontario. The plan faces opposition from indigenous nations in Michigan, whose traditions and burial grounds are in the path of the Straits of Mackinac, reports Vivian La for Grist. 

Owner of the pipeline, Enbridge Energy, “wants to replace a 4-mile segment that lies on the bottom of the ecologically sensitive straits with a new one, buried in a tunnel under the lakebed.” The permit was fast-tracked under an executive order from President Donald Trump last year.

The Michigan native nations affected by the pipeline believe reconstruction would breach their treaty rights, established in the 1836 Treaty of Washington. They  “hold treaty rights to fish and hunt in these waters, rights that predate Michigan’s statehood.

The Army Corps said their plan would cause minimal impacts on the waterway or surrounding lands, and that it would  “reduce the environmental risks associated with the pipeline, such as leaks caused by a direct hit from a boat’s anchor.”

But La reports that previously collected data from the Army Corps said tunnel construction would have adverse impacts on wetlands, vegetation, land use and cultural resources. 

Building of the pipeline has been caught up in state legislation. The Michigan Supreme Court sent permit approval back to regulators for more review after Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer sought to shut down the pipeline last year.