The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Detroit District, announces the availability of a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) addressing the Enbridge Line 5 Tunnel Project, which proposes to construct a 3.6-mile tunnel under the lakebed of the Straits of Mackinac to house a replacement segment of the existing Line 5 pipeline. The USACE is notifying the public of its release in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act.
Pursuant to Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (Title 33 United States Code [U.S.C.] Section 403) and Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (Title 33 U.S.C. Section 1344), Enbridge Energy, Limited Partnership has applied to USACE for Department of the Army authorization for structures and/or work that may affect navigable waters of the United States (U.S.) and for authorization of discharges of dredged or fill material into waters of the U.S. associated with the proposed tunnel construction (File LRE-2010-00463-56-A19).
The EIS assesses the potential impacts of the proposed Project, the No Action Alternative and a reasonable range of alternatives, on environmental resources including geologic resources, water resources, biological resources, cultural resources, air quality, noise and vibration, transportation and navigation, land use and recreation, aesthetics, soils, socioeconomics, and reliability and safety.
The public is invited to review and provide comments on the Draft EIS until the end of the Draft EIS public comment period (ending June 30, 2025). The Draft EIS is available online at https://www.line5tunneleis.com/draft-eis/. Comments received or postmarked on or before the expiration date of June 30, 2025, will be considered. USACE will be hosting two virtual public meetings (Virtual Meeting #1: June 18th, 2025, 1 to 4pm EDT; and Virtual Meeting #2: June 25th, 2025, 5 to 8pm EDT). Meeting access information will be posted to the project website in early June at https://www.line5tunneleis.com/public-meeting-information/.
The public may submit written comments online at https://www.line5tunneleis.com or by mail to: Line 5 Tunnel EIS, 6501 Shady Grove Road, P.O. Box 10178, Gaithersburg, MD 20898.
