[1] The Straits of Mackinac are major shipping lanes, providing passage for raw materials and finished goods and connecting, for instance, the iron mines of Minnesota to the steel mills of Gary, Indiana.

[6] On December 12, 2018, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder signed a bill establishing the Mackinac Straits Corridor Authority and appointed its first members.

[7] The straits are patrolled by a detachment of the United States Coast Guard based at Graham Point, St. Ignace.

A shipping channel through the winter ice is maintained by the Coast Guard's Great Lakes icebreaker, USCGC Mackinaw, based in Cheboygan near the eastern edge of the Straits.

[9][10] In late June 2019, the state of Michigan filed a lawsuit asking the Ingham County Court to compel the decommissioning of the segment of Line 5 that runs under the Straits of Mackinac.

[11] A Reuters news report defined Line 5 as "a critical part of Enbridge’s Mainline network, which delivers the bulk of Canadian crude exports to the United States".

The basis of the suit is the claim that the pipeline is a public nuisance and violates the Michigan Environmental Protection Act since it may become the source of pollution.

Snyder also appointed its first members: Geno Alessandrini of Iron Mountain, Anthony England of Ypsilanti, and Michael Zimmer of Dimondale, who serve six-year terms.