DETROIT (MI) The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers selected a Maryland company to conduct a multi-year environmental assessment of a proposed pipeline tunnel under the Straits of Mackinac.
Potomac Hudson Engineering Inc. will examine Enbridge’s plans for a utility tunnel to house a section of its Line 5 pipe. This controversial and important fossil fuel infrastructure project is currently in the final stages state-level permitting.
Potomac-Hudson will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the project, as ordered last summer by Army Corps leaders.
Monday, March 14th, was the day that the third-party contractor was announced.
According to its WebsitePHE does regular contract work for U.S. Department of Defense. It has produced environmental impact statements on energy, carbon capture and coal gasification projects in multiple states.
The company EIS portfolio includes Minnesota’s Mesaba Energy Project. This was a planned clean coal plant that failed to land permits and was eventually abandoned.
The EIS, a long and detailed analysis under the National Environmental Protection Act is required to consider alternatives to a project and the cumulative effects and foreseeable development within the project area. Enbridge had applied to have a limited environmental assessment.
In a Monday press release, Enbridge stated that it would pay for the analysis. However the Corps is responsible for the EIS content and scope to ensure an independent review.
According to the Army Corps, it will begin project scoping in this year. The process will include public comment on possible impacts and other alternatives. The Army Corps stated that the process will last for two years. These environmental analyses usually last between 2 and 6 years. Accordingto a federal investigation that was started under the Trump administration.
Assuming Enbridge can secure all its state permits, a federal approval within two years could allow Enbridge to begin tunnel construction 2024. This is the date that was revealed last year in state documents uploaded online in response to a lawsuit.
Enbridge was approved by Mackinac Straits Corridor Authority to start looking for general contractors for tunnel construction bids in February.
Construction of the tunnel is expected to take around four years. It will be completed by 2028. Enbridge and the former Republican Governor signed a 2018 agreement. The tunnel construction was set to be completed in 2024 by Rick Snyder, who paved the way for it.
The tunnel would traverse the bedrock between Point LaBarbe Point and McGulpin Point. It would house a new 30-inch pipe for light crude oil and liquid gas, replacing the existing two submerged lines, which have been in use since 1953.
Enbridge and Democratic Governor disagreed on the length of construction and the continued operation of existing oil lines. Gretchen Whitmer during negotiations prior to the company’s 1953 easement being revoked.
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE), approved Enbridge to discharge wastewater into the lakes and work within protected wetlands.
This approval was challenged by indigenous tribes in a state administrative court, claiming that the archeological investigations prior to EGLEs decision were inadequate.
The Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC), began reviewing evidence and arguments in Enbridges request for a tunnel to relocate its pipeline. The state utility regulator was convinced by the court-like proceeding that involved intervening parties. Last AprilTo consider the effects of climate-warming greenhouse gases from fuels that are transported through the pipeline.
Opponents claim that the tunnel is an attempt to extend the oil lines’ life span, is unnecessary and will contribute to climate warming emissions. Enbridge claims it is simply modernizing an existing pipeline, which provides the industry with energy as it transitions to renewable sources.
The Biden administration is currently in formal talks with Canada’s government about future Line 5 pipelines. This is after Enbridge defied Whitmers order decommissioning the Mackinac segment. Canadians claim the oil conduit is vital to their economic security, and invoke a 1977 treaty that they claim blocks Whitmers order.
Enbridge and the state Michigan are still suing over the shutdown order.
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