(AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. โ Michigan's environmental agency said Friday it has approved construction of an underground tunnel to house a replacement for a controversial oil pipeline in a channel linking two of the Great Lakes.
AdThe project requires permits from the state Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
โWe have issued permits designed to ensure that if a tunnel is constructed, it will be in strict compliance with relevant statutes and adhere to stringent protections against impacts to the Great Lakes,โ Clark said.
State officials emphasized the tunnel project was a separate legal matter from the dispute over the existing pipeline, which was laid in 1953.
It has taken steps to prevent future anchor strikes and says the tunnel project would eliminate that danger.