US EditionSupreme Court’s Michigan Pipeline Case Is About Native Rights and Fossil Fuels, Not Just Technical Legal Procedure
The Supreme Court considers if Enbridge’s late federal court move, after the 30-day deadline, should decide the fate of the pipeline impacting tribal rights and Great Lakes waters.
- On Feb. 24, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments about whether Michigan or federal courts should decide Line 5's fate in a narrow procedural dispute over late removal.
- Missing the 30-day removal deadline prompted the core procedural dispute, after a district court excused the late removal, the Sixth Circuit reversed, setting up the Supreme Court review.
- The 645-mile line runs from Superior, Wisconsin to Ontario, carries over half a million barrels daily, and has leaked more than 30 times, despite the 2018 tunnel agreement.
- A ruling could affect Indigenous self-determination and state control over waterways, as observers warn it may reshape Indigenous tribes and reservation rights and state authority, while the Trump administration highlights energy and foreign-affairs stakes.
- By March 9, 2026, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' waiting period ends and a permit decision may follow, while the Michigan Supreme Court will hear a tunnel-permit challenge on March 11, 2026.
13 Articles
13 Articles
A Technical Question Before the Supreme Court Could Seal Fate of Line 5 Pipeline
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on Tuesday about whether state or federal court will have the final say on the future of the controversial Line 5 pipeline, which carries crude oil and natural gas liquids across the Straits of Mackinac in Michigan. The case dates to a 2019 lawsuit by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, who moved to shut down the pipeline by revoking the easement that… Source
The Conversation
Supreme Court’s Michigan pipeline case is about Native rights and fossil fuels, not just technical legal procedure
An oil pipeline runs under the Straits of Mackinac, connecting Lake Michigan and Lake Huron and separating Michigan's Lower Peninsula from its Upper Peninsula. AP Photo/Carlos OsorioWhat began as a straightforward question from one water-quality advocate has morphed into a high-stakes battle over an oil pipeline at the highest levels of the U.S. government – with implications that go far beyond the fate of a technical legal conflict. The questio…
The Supreme Court hears a Line 5 oil pipeline case with high stakes for treaty rights
The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments today about a narrow procedural issue that could determine whether Michigan or federal courts ultimately decide the fate of a 73-year-old oil pipeline that many tribal nations say threatens their waters, treaty rights, and ways of life. The case, Enbridge v. Nessel, centers on Line 5, a 645-mile oil pipeline that starts in Superior, Wisconsin, snakes through Michigan, and concludes in Ontario, Can…
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