ST. IGNACE, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – The $500 million tunnel project for Enbridge Energy’s Line 5 pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac is facing just one more regulatory hurdle in its project.

The Michigan Public Service Commission (MOSC) approved the plan on Friday, leaving Enbridge with only a stamp of approval needed from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps is compiling an environmental impact statement which may not be ready until 2026.

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Rep. Cam Cavitt (R-Cheboygan) applauded the MPSC’s decision on Friday. “MPSC made the right call today, but it doesn’t excuse the overzealous effort to delay and kill the Enbridge proposal,” said Cavitt, referring to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel’s zealous court battles to shut down Line 5. “The pipeline supplies more than half the propane used in Michigan. Enbridge is one the largest taxpayers in Cheboygan County. Without Line 5 tax revenue, entire school districts would be forced to close.”

Rep. Greg Markkanen (R-Hancock) echoed his colleague. “This is the best and safest option for Yoopers,” said ​Markkanen. “There is no other realistic way to move natural gas without a pipeline. Trucking would be nearly impossible and would have a far greater negative impact. This is a common-sense solution that makes sense for everyone.”

While Rep. Curt VanderWall (R-Ludington) called it a “huge win for Northern Michigan,” Democrat Rep. Laurie Pohutsky (D-Livonia) said, “This is the wrong decision for the Great Lakes State and puts our most precious natural resource at great risk.”

Enbridge Energy, which has has been operating the Line 5 pipeline since 1953 without incident, says the pipeline moves up to 23 million gallons of crude oil and natural gas liquids per day. Propane from Enbridge heats most of the homes and businesses in the Upper Peninsula. Environmental groups are expected to challenge the MPSC’s decision in court.

Meanwhile, the dissonance between the MPSC’s decision on Friday and a previous one which authorized STE Enerfy to raise rates by 6.4% was not lost on House Republican Floor Leader Bryan Posthumus (R-Kent County).

“We tried to warn everyone this would happen, and it sure didn’t take long: the beginning of an era of unprecedented expenses for Michigan families has begun. While the Governor has been saying her ‘Green New Deal’ would save people money, it only took a couple weeks to prove that to be a lie.” Posthumus said. “Democrat policies are driving people from this state by making it more difficult to find a job and more expensive to raise a family.”