Protesters gathered near the shore on Mackinac Island in opposition to the Line 5 tunnel project during the annual Mackinac Policy Conference, May 29, 2025. | Kyle Davidson

Upon taking office in January, President Donald Trump immediately began taking action to expand gas and oil production, driving environmental stories across the nation, and of course, at home here in Michigan.

The president’s pursuit of energy dominance – despite the U.S. producing record levels of energy in 2024 – and his declaration of a widely disputed energy emergency sparked concerns among environmentalists and supporters of clean energy.

These moves also brought movement in the battle against Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline, the state’s efforts to move away from coal power and encouraged the build out of data centers – which have faced widespread pushback from communities throughout the state.

With those stories in mind, the Michigan Advance is looking back on its biggest environmental stories of 2025.

Data centers draw the ire of residents across the state

As a state law offering tax breaks on data center construction and equipment took effect earlier this year, tech companies are flocking to Michigan in hopes of building out additional facilities to advance artificial intelligence development while communities are increasingly pushing back against these projects.

In the past month, frustration from residents against the lack of transparency into many of these deals – with local officials and landowners bound by non-disclosure agreements – has hit a fever pitch with a few hundred residents gathering at the Michigan Capitol in Lansing to push back against these developments.

While regulations specific to data centers are limited to the conditions for receiving the tax break, lawmakers are stepping up to address their constituents’ concerns, with a bipartisan group of House representatives introducing legislation to repeal the tax breaks for these resource-intensive facilities.

Another group of lawmakers in the Senate has put forth regulations to bar entities withdrawing above an average of 2,000,000 gallons of water per day for consumptive use from obtaining a water withdrawal permit, require the Michigan Public Service Commission to publish reports on data centers’ energy and water use and ensure residents don’t bear the cost of upgrading water systems to serve these facilities.

Line 5 lawsuits continue as U.S. Army Corps of Engineers expedites review of tunnel project

Following a years-long legal battle over whether Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s case to remove Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline from the Great Lakes should be heard in state or federal courts, the case returned to the Ingham County’s 30th Judicial Circuit Court in Lansing at the start of the year.

The United States Supreme Court has also agreed to hear an appeal of the decision that sent the case back to Michigan in the first place.

Additionally, attorneys for Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the director of the Department of Natural Resources have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review whether the state is immune from legal action for its decision to revoke Enbridge’s easement to operate the pipeline on the bottomlands of the Straits of Mackinac, where Lake Huron and Lake Michigan meet.

A decision to take up this case could carry even further weight, with a federal judge barring the state from enforcing its notice terminating Enbridge’s easement to operate Line 5 on the bottomlands of the Great Lakes.

In yet another legal challenge before the Michigan Supreme Court, justices agreed to review whether the Michigan Public Service Commission – which oversees siting matters for pipelines within the state – erred in its decision to issue one of the permits needed for Enbridge to begin construction on its tunnel project.

The state’s highest court will hear two challenges, one filed by FLOW Water Advocates, and another filed by the Bay Mills Indian Community, Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, and Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi. That case also includes several clean water and environmental advocates as plaintiffs, including the Michigan Climate Action Network and the Environmental Law & Policy Center.

Opponents argue the commission failed to make determinations required by the Michigan Environmental Protection Act, had improperly excluded evidence while considering the permit and failed to consider alternatives to the pipeline outside of the Straits of Mackinac.

Additionally, the Army Corps of Engineers’ long awaited environmental impact statement assessing the plan to replace the two segments of pipeline located in the Straits with a new segment placed in a tunnel embedded into the bedrock beneath the lake was issued in May.

An executive order issued by the Trump Administration in January has also permitted the project’s environmental review to move forward under a shortened timeline.

EPA lifts emergency order on Flint water, residents mark milestones on lead line replacement

More than 11 years after the beginning of the Flint Water Crisis, the United States Environmental Protection Agency lifted its emergency order on the city’s drinking water, which was put in place in 2016.mHowever, community members were quick to note that the decision, which came alongside the end of the city’s lead line replacement program, does not mean that the city’s pipes are lead free. While Flint and the state of Michigan have met their obligations under a 2017 settlement requiring them to replace all lead lines in the city, several hundreds of pipes remain in vacant homes. Additionally, not all residents have agreed to have their homes checked or their pipes replaced.

The city is required by law to replace all lead lines in the coming years. Residents who need their lead lines replaced can call 810-410-1133, or email GetTheLeadOut@cityofflint.com. The city’s recovery could also be hampered by a loss in funding, as Michigan House Republicans voted to eliminate $8.3 million in funding to support services across the city, as the water crisis continues to impact residents and children.

Palisades nuclear plant returns to operating status

The Palisades nuclear reactor in Covert Twp. is located on the shores of Lake Michigan. | Lucy Valeski

In West Michigan, the first nuclear plant restart in the nation has entered its final phase, with plans to bring two small modular reactors online at the same site. While the plant has not yet returned to energy production, it has been cleared to bring new fuel on site.

However, a host of anti-nuclear groups continue to raise concerns about the safety of the restart, with a trio of organizations filing a federal lawsuit arguing the plant is legally barred from resuming operations after entering decommissioning status.

Energy emergency draws challenge from Michigan AG

Since its issuance on Jan. 20, the Trump Administration’s energy emergency order has drawn criticism from environmentalists across the nation, alongside a legal challenge from Michigan’s attorney general.

Despite record breaking energy production in 2024, the Trump administration has proclaimed the nation’s energy resources to be insufficient, though Nessel and Democratic attorneys general from 14 other states are arguing the order is unlawful.

In the lawsuit, the attorneys general argues the president’s powers are reserved for actual emergencies, and that the administration’s move to fast track permits for several activities tied to energy production undermine the rights of the states.

Alongside fast tracking the environmental review of the Line 5 tunnel project, the Trump Administration has used the order as a justification to repeatedly extend operations at a West Michigan Coal plant that was slated to close at the end of May.

According to the plant’s owner, Consumers Energy, keeping the plant online has cost the company $80 million between the initial extension issued on May 23, and Sept. 30. The latest extension, issued on Nov. 18, will keep the plant operating through Feb. 17, 2026. Nessel has challenged the extension.

Trump commits to supporting project to keep invasive carp out of the Great Lakes

A decades-long project aimed at keeping invasive carp from establishing a foothold in the Great Lakes, secured support from the White House in May, following efforts from the Whitmer administration to ensure the project would receive funding allocated under former President Joe Biden’s administration.

The $1.15 billion dollar project, which secured its first construction contract in December 2024, is a joint effort sponsored by Michigan, Illinois and the United States Army Corps of Engineers. The project targets a critical choke point near Joliet, Ill., instituting a series of deterrents to keep invasive carp and other nuisance species out of the Great Lakes.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources warns that the carp could outcompete native species and greatly harm the ecology and economy of the entire Great Lakes region – including rivers and inland lakes – alongside the region’s $20 billion fishing and boating industries.