Greg Awtry

I read in the Alpena News, January 28, 2026 edition, about Governor Whitmer’s creation of the first-ever “Michigan Maritime Strategy to Protect the Greatest Lakes”. Whitmer’s strategy “provides a clear roadmap for attracting new investments… and strengthening Michigan’s water-based economy, all while protecting the precious natural resource that define The Great Lakes State.”

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, Energy (EGLE) led this effort by developing the strategy over a year-long stakeholder-driven process working with the state’s departments of Natural Resources, Labor, Agriculture, Transportation, Economic Development and the University of Michigan, totaling more than 200 participants from government, industry, business and academia.

According to EGLE, their goal and mission is to “… take a strategic approach that accounts for the impacts of today’s actions on future generations”, to protect Michigan’s environment and public health by managing air, water, land, and energy sources. They have departments that oversee the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, encouraging renewable energy, regulate wastewater discharges, along with overseeing our drinking water. EGLE’s vision is to respect Michigan’s people, treasure natural resources and foster thriving communities throughout our two peninsulas.

All of this should be great news for the future of Michigan. But here’s where it gets a bit ironic, especially as they mention the two peninsulas, which come close together in the Straits of Mackinac.

All Michiganders know the Straits, especially the mighty Mackinac Bridge. Michiganders are also learning more about Enbridge’s 73-year-old Line 5 oil pipeline that lays in the bottom of the Straits less than a mile west of the bridge. Line 5 has spilled over 30 times, leaking well over a million gallons of oil in its lifespan. It has far outlived it’s 50 year lifespan and poses a great environmental danger to not only the Straits, but up to 700 miles of shoreline according to an exhaustive study by the University of Michigan.

Now Enbridge wants to build a 20-foot-wide tunnel under the Straits. This is after Governor Whitmer revoked Enbridge’s easement to cross the Straits in 2020, which Enbridge ignored and is now in the hands of the courts. And here is that ironic part. Enbridge needs a tunnel permit from non-other than EGLE to go ahead with their risky project. A permit that would go against everything EGLE stands for and in part, was created to prevent.

Even the Director of EGLE, Phillip Roos, said, “The Michigan Maritime Strategy underscores our commitment to protecting the Great Lakes, by reducing pollution, and harmful emissions and investing in cleaner energy.” After reading his statement there is no way he could approve a permit that would allow such a tunnel under the Straits, a tunnel that will take up to four years to build and will dump up to 5 million gallons of drilling wastewater per day into Lake Michigan, a tunnel to house an old pipeline that 90 percent of the oil goes to Sarnia, Ontario, not to Michigan, to service eastern Canada, a tunnel that is not fail-safe and has the potential to disrupt the Great Lakes shipping industry, commercial fishing, recreation and tourism, and thousands upon thousands of jobs if a significant spill were to occur.

Above I mentioned that EGLE takes great pride taking strategic approaches today that will preserve and protect the great Lakes for generations to come. Approving a tunnel under the Great Lakes to keep a 73-year-old pipeline alive does exactly the opposite. The decision EGLE will make soon will be a monumental one, a decision that will have lasting repercussions for generations to come. EGLE owes it to every single Michigander to not succumb to pressure from big oil or foreign corporations, and to do everything in their power to protect the Great Lakes at all costs, a decision they cannot undo.

Michiganders who realize the absolute value of the Great Lakes to our state, our lifestyles, our economy, and our drinking water that 1500 Michigan cities rely on, must ask this question; “Will EGLE fly like an eagle which symbolizes our strength, freedom, courage and vision, or will EGLE fail to follow their mandate, and fail to have the courage and vision to reach the only sensible decision possible, which is to emphatically deny the permit, ensuring the Great Lakes will be preserved for another 10,000 years.

Enbridge has alternatives other than building a tunnel. They can move a pipeline. We cannot move the Great Lakes. If you were Phillip Roos, Director of EGLE, would you approve or deny the permit? Let me know at gregawtry@awtry.com.