Signal Michigan LCV criticizes Whitmer's approval of Line 5 pipeline tunnel

Summary

Michigan regulators approved permits on July 15, 2026 for Enbridge, a Canadian oil company, to construct a pipeline tunnel under the Straits of Mackinac as part of the Line 5 project. Michigan League of Conservation Voters President and CEO Lisa Wozniak criticized the approval, saying Governor Gretchen Whitmer "had the opportunity to put the health and safety of our Great Lakes first, but instead, backtracked." Wozniak described the decision as a betrayal of Whitmer's earlier campaign promise to shut down Line 5. She cited threats to drinking water for millions of people and to the region's primary economic driver, as well as financial liability risks for Michigan taxpayers if the pipeline fails. She noted that independent experts have identified viable alternatives to the tunnel project. During the same week, the Canadian federal government and the governments of Alberta and British Columbia issued a series of announcements on new oil and carbon capture pipeline construction.