A Michigan appeals court has ruled that Enbridge Energy's plans to build a tunnel around an aging pipeline that runs beneath a Great Lakes channel can continue.

The tunnel would be constructed around a four-mile section of pipeline but more permits are still needed before the project can receive the green light.

A three-judge panel ruled that the state Public Service Commission had adequately analyzed the proposal to place part of the oil conduit in a concrete tunnel.

LANSING — The Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed a state order authorizing a plan to replace part of the Line 5 oil pipeline and encase it in a tunnel beneath the Straits of Mackinac lakebed.

The Michigan Court of Appeals said Wednesday it found no reason to overturn a state commission’s approval of an underground tunnel to replace four miles of Enbridge Inc.’s Line 5 oil and gas pipeline that crosses the Great Lakes.

The Michigan Court of Appeals has upheld a permit for Enbridge Energy’s plan to bury an oil pipeline beneath the environmentally sensitive Straits of Mackinac.

Environmental groups, tribes had challenged Michigan Public Service Commission approval for Enbridge to build a tunnel under the Straits of Mackinac.