Supplemental Draft EIS Comments

As a concerned resident of Michigan and citizen of the United States, I am submitting comments on the Supplemental Draft U.S. ACE EIS for the proposed Enbridge Line 5 Tunnel Project under the Straits of Mackinac. While there are many concerns, I am commenting on: A) the suspicious nature of this Supplemental Draft EIS, including the inadequate public notice and comment period USACE has provided for it, and B) the USACE approach to Incomplete and Unavailable Information (Section 3.1.4). Based on the discussion below, I conclude that the ACE has acted improperly and without transparency.

There is, in fact, no reasonable alternative to the current Line 5 pipelines under the Straits, and the USACE should immediately deny the permit application. Additionally, the applicant should be required to shut down and decommission the existing pipelines currently posing an untenable risk to human, aquatic and other ecological systems health of the region, and to the more than 1.3 million jobs directly tied to the Great Lakes.

Issues with the draft EIS:
A) Suspicious nature of this Supplemental Draft EIS: Since this document was published by the USACE, the applicant has publicly stated that its intent remains the construction of the tunnel as proposed. Additionally, Appendix F clearly states that the HDD alternative “is not proposed by the Applicant.” Why, then, did the applicant submit additional information supporting the technical feasibility of HDD installation after the May 2025 Draft EIS, prompting USACE to develop and offer this Supplemental Draft EIS? The opaqueness around the origin/impetus for this action raises questions about the relationship between the applicant and USACE, contaminating this process. USACE should immediately release all communications between itself and the applicant regarding the HDD installation alternative.

Inadequate notice and comment period: The USACE did not announce the Supplemental Draft EIS until November 12, 2025, with a revised version on November 14, 2025. And with the comment period closing on December 5, the public has had only three (3) weeks to review this document. Nor did ACE fully notify the public, including conducting usual notice to media outlets. This comment timeline is wholly inadequate for analyzing a new technique in the Straits. Disadvantaging the public in this way further draws into question USACE’s process and transparency.

B) USACE’s approach to Incomplete and Unavailable Information (Section 3.1.4): It bears repeating that the USACE has provided insufficient time for the public to reasonably evaluate impact and effects of the HDD installation alternative presented in this Supplemental Draft EIS.

The Supplemental Draft EIS states directly that there is an absence of critical design and specific location data, and that analysis of effects of the HDD installation alternative utilizes essentially insufficient baseline data. As a result, consideration of this alternative requires assumptions and interpretations that, very likely, could yield unfounded determinations in this EIS. USACE should withdraw consideration of the HDD installation alternative immediately.

In closing, the USACE is acting irresponsibly in both process and content with this Supplemental Draft EIS, potentially imperiling the Great Lakes’ incipient and adjacent ecosystems and all other impacted parties.

* Line 5, especially under the Straits of Mackinac, is a disaster about to happen and must be closed.
* At a time of increasing environmental disasters, hurricanes, excessive heat, flooding, resulting from increased carbon dioxide and other emissions into the atmosphere,
* I am amazed that anyone would seriously think of spending billions to preserve line 5 instead of pressing even harder for safe, nonnuclear energy.
* Elmbridge's new proposal of HDD is not a solution, but a move that does nothing but exacerbate the crisis to say nothing of the environmental destruction resulting from this Horizontal Drilling Disaster.

If this line five ruptured it would be devastating to not only the ecosystem but to tourism, recreational boating and fishing, tribal commercial fishing, water consumption and swimming not to mention the bottomlands in the Straits of Mackinac have not been ceded by Native Americans. Verticle boring beneath one of the largest sources of fresh water in the world over a distsncr of five miles is ludicrous and the existing line five is a out 25 years past its life expectancy. In recent years some of the supports for line five deteriorated le as ving the pipe line laying on the lake bed
, when discovered they lifted the pipeline and installed new supports. My question is how much stress was placed on the joints of the oil / gas pipeline. Michigan benefits very little from Enbridges line five ! I would der what their profit is on the million glo s if oil that travels through line five every day. We g ave t even touched on how tumultuous the currents in the Straitsof Mackinac are and under the cover of ice they are even more violent ! How do we clean up after a rupture when the Straits are frozen. Even if E bridge had insurance Michigan residents would still be on the hook for in excess of 3 billion dollars.

As we have an obligation to ourselves as Michiganders, to other members of the Great Lakes Compact, to our broader community and humanity, the only sensible and acceptable resolution to the issue of Line 5 is its complete and permanent removal from the straits.

The revised Enbridge proposal for still does not address the issue of using an untested technology through a delicate geological formation to replace an outdated solution to moving fossil fuels beneath the Straits of Mackinac. This is not only putting fresh water - our most precious resource - at risk, it ignores the threat to future generations of Americans posed by a continuing reliance on petroleum when there are much better, sustainable solutions to address our growing energy needs.

Please deny the Enbridge Line 5 tunnel. They have proven that they can't perform HDD drilling safely in the straits of Mackinac with their line 3 expansion frack-outs. This project is also forcing Michigan taxpayers to hold ALL the financial and environmental risk for a foreign company, while the company rakes in all the profit. As this tunnel will primarily benefit Canada, why should we accept this risk? Please do your duty to America and Michigan and don't allow this project to continue. Our great state cannot afford to ruin our ecology for corporate greed.

I oppose the alternate proposal of horizonal drilling a bore hole beneath the Great Lakes for the purpose of installing a pipeline for the transportation of natural gas and/or crude or processed petroleum products for economic gain by the Enbridge energy delivery company. Enbridge has a documented history of transportation failure along their pipelines in the United States. There is no zero trust on the part of the citizens of the planet that this new Enbridge-owned project would be done safely. Protection of the absolutely vital fresh waters of the Great Lakes is the ultimate responsibility of this review board. I sincerely hope that the United States Corp of Engineers will do their job to the highest standards of responsibility granted to them and secure with their utmost integrity the future of this sacred fresh water resource. There is no replacement if the waters should become despoiled by corporate interests. Planet, not profit, should be the Corps mission statement!

Please do not approve the reroute for line 5. It’d be so detrimental to our ecosystem and especially for the Great Lakes. Oil spills are detrimental to the wildlife and for our own health, in terms of drinking water. It would be beneficial to remove the rotting pipeline once and for all, then utilize trucks for the transportation of oil.

The entire idea of building new infrastructure to move dangerous petrochemicals under a sensitive waterway (ecologically and in terms of water supply), is profoundly immoral, counterproductive, and evil on its face. Future generations will look back on the proponents and enablers of this project with deep disgust. You know that this is wrong for us and for the planet. We have safer options. Please change direction or get used to having a troubled conscience and descendants that feel deep shame when your name is uttered.