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 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.

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

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.

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