An above-ground section of Enbridge’s Line 5 at the Mackinaw City pump station is photographed in this AP file photo. Michigan residents will have the opportunity to learn more voice their concerns or support for the proposed Line 5 tunnel on Thursday. (AP photo)

MARQUETTE — Michigan residents will have the opportunity to voice their concerns or support for the proposed Line 5 tunnel on Thursday.

The Mackinac Straits Corridor Authority meeting will provide Michigan residents with a construction contractor selection process and general progress update from Enbridge Energy, the Canadian-based company responsible for Line 5.

Residents interested in attending the meeting can find the full agenda link to watch the meeting and submit public comments at michigan.gov/mdot/about/commissions-councils-committees/msca/december-2023.

The Michigan Public Service Commission approved a siting application filed by Enbridge Energy on Friday for a proposed replacement segment of pipelines now located on top of the the lakebed along the Straits of Mackinac, replacing them with a single pipeline in a tunnel deep below the lakebed, subject to the company obtaining additional government approvals and permits. There are also conditions related to the tunnel’s safety and construction.

“It’s time to build the tunnel so that we can protect the waters of the Great Lakes, the environment and the people who use the precious waters, while keeping energy flowing to this region,” Enbridge Senior Vice President of Public Affairs, Communications and Sustainability Mike Fernandez said in a news release. “This tunnel is really a win-win solution for Michiganders and the region.”

Built in 1953 for the purpose of transporting oil, Line 5 is a single petroleum pipeline extending 645 miles across the state of Michigan. It’s a single 30-inch diameter pipe except for the section in the Straits, which is a 4.5 mile section made up of two 20-inch diameter pipes that lie on the lake bottom.

Line 5 transports up to 22.68 million gallons of crude oil and other natural gas liquids per day. Some natural gas liquids are refined into propane and used in the Upper Peninsula while other products are routed for processing at oil refineries in Detroit and Ohio. Some Michigan companies use Line 5 to transport the oil they produce.

Former Michigan Governor Rick Snyder created the MSCA, tasked with overseeing building and operating a utility tunnel beneath the Straits of Mackinac, in 2018. Its board then approved an agreement with Enbridge to create a utility tunnel in the Straits that would prevent oil from enters the Straits in case of a spill.

Current Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel publicly opposed the continued operation of Line 5 in the Straits.

One group — FLOW (For Love of Water) — is in direct opposition to Line 5 as a whole due to the risks it poses for the area’s water.

“In the same week that Governor Whitmer signed into law a nationally significant climate bill to decarbonize 100% of Michigan’s economy by 2040, today’s ruling is a black mark on the administration’s climate record and a disgrace to all of Michigan,” said a statement from FLOW. “A Line 5 tunnel with a 99-year lease will be an embarrassing albatross, hobbling future efforts to transition the region off fossil fuels and imprudently burdening taxpayers.”