The Mackinac Straits Corridor Authority is legal. The authority will oversee a controversial tunnel to house a new section of the Line 5 pipeline.
A Court of Claims judge ruled the law that created the authority stands.
Line 5 carries crude oil and natural gas liquids under the Straits of Mackinac.
At the center of the dispute is a part of the law that says the members of the Authority are to serve 6-year terms.
Both parties and the judge agreed that the 6-year term limits are unconstitutional. But the plaintiffs argued that the whole section of law creating the board should be invalid as a result – including their agreement to build the new tunnel.
The judge disagreed. He says the members appointed by former Governor Rick Snyder can stay for four-years without invalidating the rest of the law.