Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel (D) hasdeclared unconstitutional a late-2018 lawthat would create an authority to oversee construction of a key tunnel. The tunnel would house an oil-and-gas pipeline under the Straits of Mackinac.

国家的Republican-led Legislature approved the law in December, and former Gov. Rick Snyder (R) signed the bill to create the Mackinac Corridor Authority. It would oversee Enbridge’s construction of a tunnel beneath the straits to replace the company’s aging Line 5 pipeline. The underwater line carries oil and natural gas to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, as well as Wisconsin and Canada.

现任密歇根州州长格蕾琴·惠特默（D）要求AG的法律意见，声称该法律无效。她说，这项有效的立法改变了该法案的最初目的，因为它“超出了其标题中披露的范围”。

Republican leaders in the state Legislature scoffed at the opinion because a judge already has allowed the law to stand. That’s despite a challenge over the length of the terms of authority members, which was upheld. Consumer groups are expected to sue, as residents of the Upper Peninsula rely on propane for home heating and oppose plans that would take Line 5 out of service without replacing it.

Kelly Rossman-McKinney, Nessel’s communications director, said the attorney general feels confident the opinion will be upheld. Whitmer, meanwhile, has reopened discussions with Enbridge and hasn’t ruled out a tunnel or utility corridor to get the pipeline out of the water. But she has said it needs to be built faster than the $350-million to $500-million, 10-year timeline Enbridge promised under the Snyder-era deal. A spokeswoman for Snyder said the former governor has no comment.

“My goal is to get the pipeline out of water, and to make sure Yoopers [Upper Peninsula residents] have access to affordable energy,” Whitmer told the Detroit News.