Michigan Governor Open To Allowing Great Lakes Oil Tunnel

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LANSING (AP) — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says she's open to allowing construction of an oil pipeline tunnel beneath the channel where Lakes Huron and Michigan meet, despite ordering state officials not to act on a tunnel plan developed by her predecessor.

Whitmer told reporters Wednesday in Lansing her goal remains getting Enbridge's Line 5 out of the Straits of Mackinac as quickly as possible.

Former Gov. Rick Snyder negotiated a deal with Enbridge to run a new pipeline through a subterranean tunnel that the company hopes to complete by 2024. Whitmer stopped work on implementing the deal last month after Attorney General Dana Nessel said a law allowing it to proceed was unconstitutional.

But Whitmer said today she'll pursue any strategy to remove the existing pipes from the water quickly, including a tunnel.