Feds issue Line 5 tunnel permit, call it ‘not contrary to the public interest’

By Laura Herberg, Justin A. Hinkley And Kelly House/bridge Michigan The US Army Corps of Engineers has permitted construction of the controversial Line 5 tunnel project in the Straits of Mackinac. The project, which would divert a section of the Line 5 petroleum pipeline from the open waters of the Straits into a concrete tunnel beneath the lakebed, is “not contrary to the public interest” and would not harm tribal treaty rights, the Army Corps said in announcing its permit. Nonetheless, the Corps noted the project would have adverse effects on endangered species and archaeological sites, that it would contribute to “long-term impacts of habitat loss” and have “long-term detrimental impacts on land use.” While the federal approval clears a big hurdle for the nearly decade-old proposal, don’t expect shovels…

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