On July 31, 2026, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled 6–1 that state regulators erred in approving Enbridge's plan to build an oil tunnel beneath the Straits of Mackinac.
The Court vacated the approval entirely — meaning Enbridge no longer has the state authorization it needs to build — and sent the case back to the Michigan Public Service Commission to start over. In a decision led by four Tribal Nations and their allies, the justices held that regulators cannot ignore the public's rights in the Great Lakes, cannot pretend the tunnel is unconnected to extending the life of the aging Line 5 pipeline, and cannot stack the deck when comparing the project against alternatives. It is a landmark interpretation of Michigan's environmental law with consequences reaching far beyond this one project.
Read the full ruling below.
Read the Supreme Court Decision
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