LANSING – The Snyder administration has scrapped plans to put a proposed Line 5 tunnel under the control of the Mackinac Bridge Authority and is scrambling to draft legislation to create a new entity for that job, a key senator confirmed Monday.

The move comes after the Republican-controlled Senate heard strong opposition to putting the controversial tunnel under control of the bridge authority, which Gov. Rick Snyder had hoped would approve the new role at a meeting this year.

The decision also comes as incoming House Speaker Lee Chatfield, R-Levering, came out Monday against putting the proposed tunnel under bridge authority control, saying it could be a distraction from the authority's primary role.

It's important for both Snyder, a Republican, and Enbridge, the Canadian oil transport giant that owns the pipeline, to enshrine the deal by the end of 2018. On Jan. 1, 2019, Democratic Gov.-elect Gretchen Whitmer and Attorney General-elect Dana Nessel take office. Both oppose the tunnel plan and want to shut down Line 5, because of concerns about the potential for an environmentally catastrophic spill.

Sen. Tom Casperson, R-Escanaba, introduced Senate Bill 1197 early last month to amend the bridge authority's legislation to take on responsibility for both the tunnel construction project and the completed tunnel.

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But Casperson said Monday that he expects a substitute bill to instead create a new authority to oversee the proposed tunnel could be introduced as early as Tuesday.

Casperson said some of the authority's seven members support the tunnel plan but are strongly opposed to putting responsibility for the tunnel under the control of the Mackinac Bridge Authority.

Ari Adler, a spokesman for Snyder, said the most important piece to the governor is not what entity provides oversight, but "doing all we can to protect the Straits of Mackinac and the Great Lakes while ensuring energy stability" for Michigan.

"Legislators appear to favor an alternative of using a new authority and Gov. Snyder supports that decision," Adler said in an email.

Despite strong opposition, a Senate panel passed SB 1197 last week, in a 3-2 party-line vote. The bill has not yet been passed by the Senate.

The administration and the Senate leadership "are working on trying to come up with a plan ... to just separate it completely," Casperson said.

A spokesman for the environmental group Oil and Water Don't Mix, said the group remains opposed to the proposed tunnel, which would take seven to 10 years to construct, regardless of what entity oversees it.

"If Enbridge, a multinational corporation, wants an oil tunnel in the Mackinac Straits that primarily benefits its shareholders, it should propose doing it under current state laws and without public subsidies, governmental partnerships or special treatment," said Sean McBrearty, the group's campaign coordinator.

Chatfield said on Facebook on Monday the proposed tunnel is "a no-brainer for the people of Michigan," especially since Enbridge has agreed to pay the full cost.

However, Chatfield said he doesn't think the Mackinac Bridge Authority is the best entity to oversee the tunnel.

The authority "has done an outstanding job for decades of leaving politics at the door and effectively maintaining one of Michigan’s truest gems, the Mackinac Bridge," Chatfield said.

"I do not wish to see them distracted by another job, and because of that, I am pushing to create an entity that can meet this obligation instead of the bridge authority."

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @paulegan4.