It will be at least a couple more years now before Enbridge can move forward with plans for a tunnel beneath the Straits of Mackinac.
Late last week, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, responsible for determining whether to issue Enbridge a Clean Water Act permit, stated it now expects the draft environmental impact statement for the project permit to be completed in the spring of 2025. It was originally expected to be wrapped up this spring.
Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley calls the news frustrating.
"This decision to push this back by a year, really puts us in a purgatory," said Bradley. "It's important to this community, there's 5,000 jobs directly impacted, it's important to Canada because there are thousands of jobs and products related to Line 5. So, it's a major disappointment."
He said he's concerned about what impact the decision to delay could have on Sarnia-Lambton.
"We've got a very active number of possibilities going on right now as it relates to new investment in the region and Sarnia-Lambton and security of supply is an important issue," said Bradley. "That's why we're hoping to get this issue addressed with Line 5 because it's extremely important to our main industry here, and not only to them, but to all the people that work around that industry in the construction trades."
Bradley said he will be sure to voice his displeasure with Ottawa.
"In the last couple of years we've worked very closely with the federal minister's office and the minister of natural resources and I will be communicating with them to see is there anything they can do. They may just say we have to be arm's length, but I think it's important that Canada expresses to Washington this was unexpected, and this was a good thing for Michigan to encase that pipeline. This would also create a lot of jobs, which any government is always focused on."
In the past, the Calgary-based company had said Line 5 would continue to operate safely while it focuses on plans to construct a 6.4-kilometre tunnel to replace the lines beneath the Straits of Mackinac. Enbridge announced plans for the project in 2018 and first submitted its application in April 2020.
The Great Lakes Tunnel that would house Line 5 would be about 100 feet below the lakebed, and would take about four years to construct.
Bradley said the project was of great environmental benefit to the Great Lakes.
"The money that's being spent, that half a billion, I'm sure it's going to be much higher by the time they get to it now, was an investment to protect the Great Lakes," he said. "Without that spending, there's people like myself and others that would be more lukewarm in our support for this pipeline because we're very concerned about the safety of the Great Lakes too."
The 70 year old pipeline, which runs between Superior, Wisconsin and Sarnia, carries crude oil and natural gas liquids used in propane to industries in the city, and elsewhere in the province and Quebec.