Line 5 Fight Will Have Major Impact for Michigan Voters in 2024 Election

A photo of the Mackinac Bridge, which sits near the section of the Mackinac Straits that Line 5 runs through. The proposed reroute and tunnel would also be nearby. Photo by Joel Dinda via Flickr Creative Commons License.

The fight to end Line 5 operations in Michigan was set back last week when The Michigan Public Service Commission approved Enbridge’s proposed plan to encase the pipeline in an underground tunnel in the Mackinac Straits. 

Michigan opponents of the pipeline, including governor Gretchen Whitmer, Attorney General Dana Nessel and each of the twelve federally recognized tribes in the state, have been fighting Enbridge Oil Company’s efforts to continue the operation of Line 5 in the state. Governor Whitmer had previously denied the company’s easement in 2020 and ordered the company to shut the pipeline down, but Enbridge continued to operate in the Great Lakes, in violation of this. 

Now, activists and organizers throughout the state will be watching how President Biden addresses one of the most important policy topics in Michigan on his campaign trail this coming year. Since revoking the Keystone XL pipeline permit his first day in office in 2020, Biden has remained distant from national pipeline issues. As his reelection campaign efforts take off in the new year, many environmental justice advocates are looking to Biden as a possible avenue for halting the operations of Line 5 in the Great Lakes. His stance on the issue could have major consequences for his support in Michigan in the upcoming presidential election, particularly among Native American voters in the state.

According to a recent ClimateWire article which interviewed Andrea Pierce, founder of the Michigan Democratic Party Anishinaabek Caucus and a citizen of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, Biden’s future actions and stance on Line 5 will determine his standing with Native American voters. Pierce noted that Biden’s inaction thus far has turned many of her community members away from working with him. But with or without Biden, Tribal and community leaders, along with environmental justice advocates and policymakers, will continue to push for the end of Line 5 operations in Michigan to protect our Great Lakes region in the Midwest, and to end reliancy on fossil fuels in the midst of the onset of climate change.