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Senate holds off on legislation to have Mackinac bridge authority acquire controversial tunnel

LANSING, MI (MPRN)--   Lawmakers are reconsidering who should oversee a proposed new, tunnel for an oil and gas pipeline under the Straights of Mackinac. 

A bill would have the Mackinac Bridge Authority oversee the tunnel, but at a hearing Wednesday people raised concerns about the largely independent body overseeing the controversial tunnel.

Committee chairman Arlan Meekhof offered few details about changes lawmakers are considering making to the bill.

“I can’t say what they are yet because there was a number of suggestions offered that did merit some more looking into and I think that they will do that and I think the product will be better,” he said.

Last month, Governor Rick Snyder announced the plan to decommission a decades old pipeline. His plan calls for a multi-use tunnel to be running in about 10 years.

Before becoming the newest Capitol reporter for the Michigan Public Radio Network, Cheyna Roth was an attorney. She spent her days fighting it out in court as an assistant prosecuting attorney for Ionia County. Eventually, Cheyna took her investigative and interview skills and moved on to journalism. She got her masters at Michigan State University and was a documentary filmmaker, podcaster, and freelance writer before finding her home with NPR. Very soon after joining MPRN, Cheyna started covering the 2016 presidential election, chasing after Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and all their surrogates as they duked it out for Michigan. Cheyna also focuses on the Legislature and criminal justice issues for MPRN. Cheyna is obsessively curious, a passionate storyteller, and an occasional backpacker. Follow her on Twitter at @Cheyna_R