New Report: Line 5 Tunnel Could Stick Michigan Taxpayers With $4 Billion Bill
Back in 2018, former Gov. Rick Snyder made a backroom deal during the end-of-year legislative session that would effectively tie Michigan taxpayers’ hands for the next century. By creating the Mackinac Straits Corridor Authority to oversee construction of the Line 5 oil tunnel in the Straits of Mackinac, the legislature and governor force-fed us a solution that was merely a superficial fix to deal with Enbridge’s aging, deteriorating Line 5 oil pipeline.
Since then, Oil & Water Don’t Mix (OWDM) has been working to educate the public about the dangers of the tunnel agreement and getting state and federal agencies, including pressing Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, to reject the oil tunnel. Our movement has made some successful challenges to some of these permit requests, but the issue still remains––Michiganders would be on the hook for a boondoggle that we’d lease out to a Canadian corporation, with our Great Lakes taking all the risk and leaving residents to little benefit.
But a new report from OWDM also warns that building an oil tunnel through the heart of the Great Lakes poses catastrophic financial risks that could leave Michigan taxpayers holding the bag for more than $4 billion in damages if disaster strikes.
The analysis, Risky Line 5 Tunnel: How Michigan Could Stick Taxpayers With a $4 Billion Bill Without Proper Oversight, reveals that:
Michigan taxpayers, not Enbridge, would own the tunnel and its liabilities once construction is complete, thanks to a deal negotiated under former Gov. Rick Snyder.
Enbridge’s liability coverage falls far short in the case of an oil spill, with only about $940 million in assurances against costs that could exceed $50 billion.
If a spill were to occur, tourism losses could reach $4.8 billion, with Mackinac Island and Great Lakes shoreline communities vulnerable to devastating oil contamination.
If oil contaminated our Great Lakes, public health and water systems would face hundreds of millions of dollars in costs, including emergency drinking water for communities.
Shipping and infrastructure impacts could exceed $45 billion if the Straits shipping lanes were shut down due to an oil emergency.
The tunnel itself poses new dangers, with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers admitting that it will leak 21,000 gallons of groundwater per day—three and a half times the allowable limits—and experts warning of risks from methane and hydrogen sulfide explosions.
This simply isn’t worth the risk. In the event of a disaster, under this current plan Enbridge stands to profit while Michigan taxpayers inherit catastrophic consequences for our environment and our economy. It would be irresponsible for this administration to sign off on a deal that gambles with our Great Lakes, our economy, and billions in taxpayer dollars.
The report underscores urgent warnings from Michigan’s Attorney General and Department of Natural Resources, both of whom cautioned in 2020 that the tunnel agreement exposes taxpayers to massive, unprotected costs.
While we continue to ring the alarm about the dangers of tunnel construction and taxpayers’ liability, we’re still calling on Gov. Whitmer and state regulators to reject the tunnel permit. Download the full report here, share it with a friend, and make sure you contact Gov. Whitmer and the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) to oppose the Line 5 oil tunnel.
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Sean McBrearty, Oil & Water Don’t Mix Coordinator
