The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has fast-tracked the permitting process for Enbridge Inc.'s controversial Line 5 pipeline project, the latest move in a long-running battle to replace the aging dual line that runs under the Great Lakes in Michigan, The Globe and Mail has reported.

It said the decision is a result of President Donald Trump's declaration of a national energy emergency made in an executive order on Jan.

In a public notice Wednesday, the Globe noted, the Army Corps for the Detroit district said the project's accelerated permit request by Calgary-based Enbridge meets the terms of President Trump's order because it addresses an "energy supply situation which would result in an unacceptable hazard to life, a significant loss of property, or an immediate, unforeseen, and significant economic hardship" if the application isn't quickly addressed.

Line 5 transports as much as 540,000 barrels a day of light crude oil, light synthetic crude and natural gas liquids from Superior, Wis., through northern Wisconsin and Michigan to refineries in Sarnia, Ont. It also provides roughly 45% of supplies for refineries in Detroit and Toledo, and 55% of Michigan's statewide propane needs, according to Enbridge.

The company has proposed building a tunnel that would run deep under the Straits of Mackinac, where Lake Michigan meets Lake Huron, to accommodate a new Line 5 pipeline segment to replace the current, aging pipe.

While the Army Corps' decision speeds up the application process, Shane McCoy, its Detroit district regulator chief, said in a briefing that a decision on the project's permissibility "has not, and will not, be predetermined" before various analyses and all required consultations are complete. He said the draft environmental impact statement would be published later this spring, adding that the truncated process does not eliminate any assessment steps. "We have a full confidence that we were making decisions based on the best information available," he said.

Still, Wednesday's decision drew sharp criticism from various Great Lakes region business leaders and environmental groups. They argue that fast-tracking the controversial project under the guise of an emergency sets a dangerous precedent.

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