Posted Draft EIS Comments

I am a US citizen from Berkley, Michigan. I strongly oppose the Line 5 Tunnel because of it’s actual and potential impacts on the Great Lakes.

First, the constructing of the tunnel and pipeline would be detrimental to tourism, fish and other animals, the floor of the Lakes, and the myriad other water-related activities that make the Great Lakes great.

Second, hopefully it’s an unlikely event, but should it happen, an oil spill in the Great Lakes would be catastrophic — for drinking water, wildlife, and Michigan’s economy (please keep in mind that over 1.3 million jobs (~$82 billion in wages) are directly tied to the Great Lakes.

Finally, tribal nations and Indigenous communities here in Michigan have not been meaningfully consulted. Their rights, treaties, and voices must be honored and are not currently receiving the attention they deserve.

Please reconsider Line 5 and instead increase the focus on renewable energy sources with lower impacts on the vast forms of livelihoods in and around the Great Lakes.

We should be phasing out fossil fuels completely in order to mitigate the human caused climate crisis. To install a pipeline, capable of destroying the fresh water lakes, which is completely unnecessary if we do what is right for the world, is completely insane. We should not be kowtowing to the fossil fuel industry, we should not need to “pray” that nothing goes wrong, we should not be making ourselves vulnerable to sabotage and attacks, we should be progressing into a green future. Wind, solar, water are our future. Save the world!

I am opposed to Enbridge’s plan for Line 5 Tunnel Project that would traverse the Great Lakes. Enbridge has a poor history of pipe leakages and any oil spilled in the straits or anywhere on the Great Lakes would be catastrophic, impacting everything from drinking water for millions of people and animals, recreational businesses, devastating environmental damage and economic disruption.

Stop Line 5. The Great Lakes are a precious resource. Thank you.

I own property in the Straits, and would be directly impacted by the construction, contamination and potential spills. I do not support building the tunnel or continuing the use of the line in the straits of our beautiful waterways.

I am strongly opposed to the dangerous expansion of the Enbridge Line 5 tunnel project. This project ignores the voices of more than 11,000 Michiganders who demanded a thorough study. It bypasses environmental protections under the false claim of a U.S. “energy emergency.”

I own property both in Holland and on Sleeping Bear Bay, which is particularly at risk of a nightmare oil spill. As a Michigan citizen for all of my life, I treasure the Great Lakes and have worked to support their purity.

Finally, we don’t need more oil; we need clean energy. Please respond to the concerns of citizens like me and stop this expansion now by refusing a permit. We do not need a pipeline threatening our beautiful Michigan lakes.

That pipeline goes from Canada to Canada is a shortcut for them. Supplies 6% of propane to UP and nothing more. It’s 72 years old with a lifespan and lease of 50 years. When it breaks open, we lose 20% of the world’s fresh water, fish, wildlife, tourism, and our way of life up here.
Michigan gets 200$ for that oil lease, risking all that
I would happily pay a premium for propane and not risk the water we are blessed with in this state. As Michiganders, we are stewards of this land and water and must protect it at all costs. We have so much to lose and so little to gain from this pipeline and proposed tunnel. The US Coast Guard has ran models and has no definitive answer on what will happen if we have a spill where two Great Lakes meet. Senator Peters worked on that study. The company that could not adequately build a wall on dry land has been offered this contract with ZERO experience drilling and building a tunnel; no one has this experience. Why would we risk all of this for Enbridge and Canadian tar sands oil. Enbridge has shown us they are incompetent 10 years ago in Kalamazoo, they did not even know they had a leak for almost a day and cranked up the pumps when the gauges showed an issue spilling over a million gallons of oil into our ecosystem. This still is not properly cleaned up. Enbridge also has had their credit rating lowered, and if we do have a spill, they will not have the knowledge, resources or inclination to clean up our lakes if that is even possible. They will likely walk away and leave that to us the residents of Michigan to deal with and fund. Personally, I own lakefront property in the UP and do not want this beautiful property destroyed. I feel ridiculous even mentioning that though… We as a state have so much to lose and virtually nothing to gain. It is shown that digging for a tunnel could cause methane explosions, we just don’t know…Please do your job and protect this vital resource! Insist the antique expired pipeline is removed and deny the tunnel! Thank you

I urge the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, to reject a rushed approval of the Line 5 tunnel project. This project has not undergone a comprehensive risk assessment to determine the full scope of the impact on the climate, Indigenous rights, and public health. Concerns have already been raised by tunnel experts and state consultants about the logistics of creating a tunnel under the lakebed, especially given the porous quality of the rock. There could be risk of explosion (if natural gas leaks into air pockets within the tunnel or the rocks) or risk of oil or gas leaks into the Great Lakes. A failure of this project would be catastrophic for the communities that rely on the Great Lakes for clean drinking water and more than a million jobs that are tied to the Great Lakes. For that reason, there needs to be the highest level of review and scrutiny for any risks associated with this project, and the current research does not go far enough to address and alleviate these concerns.
Approving this tunnel will continue to lock us in to fossil fuel dependency for decades, at a time when it is critical to cut fossil fuel usage to combat the worst effects of climate change. PLG Consulting did a study during the Bad River Band case in Wisconsin that determined that almost every barrel of oil that is currently supplied by Line 5 could be replaced by other sources within 3 months. Based on that, the proposed tunnel project would not be needed, and the current Line 5 pipeline could be decommissioned. As a replacement, Enbridge could continue their investments in renewable energy (currently, large-scale renewable energy investments are cheaper than fossil fuels for energy use).
Overall, this project is risky for the Great Lakes, Michigan, and the climate, and there has not been a sufficient comprehensive risk assessment completed to identify and address all the concerns. I urge the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, to reject this project based on the lack of investigation into all potential risks, especially regarding the impact to climate change.

My name is Dr. Steven Ashmead MD, a Family physician in Michigan I am writing on behalf of myself but also as a Board Member of Michigan Clinicians for Climate Action, an organization of health care providers and others concerned about health of the people of Michigan. I recommend AGAINST approval of the pipeline.

The most important reasons NOT to build this tunnel are because of its health concerns, including the air pollution caused by the burning of petroleum, including that carried by this tunnel, in our vehicles, businesses, and homes, and the health harms associated with climate change caused by the fossil fuels carried by this tunnel. Additionally the health risks of the inevitable oil spills that will occur from this pipeline must be considered. The risks of pollution of the largest fresh water lakes in the world cannot be minimized .

Regarding air pollution, few people are aware of the huge effects of air pollution on everyone’s health. The worst components of the air pollution are the particulate matter 2.5 microns and smaller . The harms continue even when we can’t see the pollution and when the air pollution is within the limits as defined by the EPA. The leading problems caused by this pollution are heart disease and stroke, followed by chronic lung disease, lung infections, and lung cancer. It also contributes to problems in our children including low birth weight, asthma, autism, and others. These problems cause about 100,000 deaths in the US and 8 million worldwide each year.

Regarding the effects of climate change, there is no doubt that the fossil fuels, including those carried by this tunnel, are leading to warming of our planet. Direct heat effects can be a large problem, especially for agricultural and industrial workers, but also for young children and the elderly. Climate change makes conditions more favorable for infections including Lyme disease, which is increasing substantially in Michigan and other states. It contributes to deaths and other health problems from extreme health events, such as Hurricane Helene which hit North Carolina and other states last fall, causing many deaths and $60B in damages . The wildfire in California in 2025 causing billions of dollars in damages are attributable in part to climate change caused by continual burning of fossil fuels.


This tunnel is intended to continue our dependence on petroleum and other fossil fuels from the 19th and 20th century. A better idea that we as a society should be moving to the clean energy sources of the 21st century.

If this application is to move forward, I recommend that health analysis be performed that assesses the harms to health caused by the dirty petroleum that will flow through this tunnel. Additionally the health risks of the inevitable oil spills that will occur from this pipeline must be considered .