ST. IGNACE, MI (MPRN)— Federal officials with the Army Corps of Engineers took public comment last week on a proposed tunnel beneath the Straits of Mackinac.
The tunnel would contain Enbridge Energy’s “Line 5,” replacing the 69-year-old dual pipelines that run along the lakebed carrying crude oil and natural gas liquids.
The majority of commenters spoke against the project. They want the Army Corps to look into alternatives that wouldn’t potentially harm the environmental and cultural resources.
Whitney Gravelle is President of the Bay Mills Indian Community Executive Council.
“In the line of creation men and women were not created last because we are the most important, we were created last because we’re the least important. We rely on all of those natural resources to be able to live, to be able to support our families and just exist as Anishinaabe people of the Great Lakes.”
Supporters of the project say it will bring valuable jobs.
The Army Corps will release a draft Environmental Impact Statement next fall. It will help determine if Enbridge should get a permit to build the tunnel.