Jane Fonda’s climate PAC gave campaign money to two Michigan Supreme Court justices before they joined a ruling against a major pipeline project, according to newly published reporting.

The amounts were modest compared with the scale of the energy fight: $5,000 apiece.

The July 31 decision sent Enbridge’s Line 5 tunnel permit back for further review. It did not order the existing pipeline shut down.

The Daily Caller News Foundation reported August 29 that the Jane Fonda Climate PAC contributed to Chief Justice Megan Cavanagh and Justice Noah Hood roughly six weeks before the decision. Both are seeking full terms in November.

The report cited campaign-finance filings showing the two $5,000 contributions. It also identified the PAC’s endorsements of the justices, connecting its campaign activity with its broader opposition to fossil-fuel projects.

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The outlet said the PAC and the justices did not respond to its requests for comment before publication. Its account does not establish that either contribution influenced a vote.

That distinction matters in a seven-member court: Cavanagh and Hood were two of the six justices who supported the majority’s decision.

The Michigan Supreme Court vacated the Michigan Public Service Commission’s approval and returned the application to the commission. The majority found problems with the way regulators applied the state’s environmental-protection law.

Specifically, the court said regulators needed to consider whether the tunnel would extend Line 5’s operating life and cause additional environmental harm. It also found the comparison of alternatives inconsistent and the consideration of public-trust resources inadequate.

Justice Brian Zahra agreed that further findings were needed on the public-trust issue, but disputed the majority’s broader reasoning. He argued that the review improperly expanded beyond the replacement project to Line 5 as a whole.

The result was a setback for the proposed tunnel’s state approval, with additional proceedings required. The ruling itself was not a finding about campaign contributions.

The Michigan Public Service Commission originally approved the siting permit in December 2023, subject to conditions and other required approvals. Its explanation shows why the dispute reaches well beyond one stretch of pipe.

Line 5 runs about 645 miles from Wisconsin through Michigan to Ontario and carries light crude oil and natural gas liquids, including propane. The Straits of Mackinac crossing consists of two existing pipelines that the project would replace with one pipe inside a concrete-lined tunnel.

Regulators said the tunnel would sharply reduce the danger of an anchor strike and provide secondary containment if a leak developed. They also concluded that replacing the pipeline’s transportation function with trucks, rail or other alternatives could increase costs and environmental risks.

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Those were the commission’s findings supporting its original approval. The Supreme Court has now required a different and fuller analysis before the application can move forward on that basis.

The campaign-finance report adds another question to a long-running dispute. The next regulatory step remains the commission’s reconsideration under the court’s instructions.

Photo: Jane Fonda at Cannes in 2015, by Georges Biard, CC BY-SA 3.0. Color adjusted and landscape framing extended.

 

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