Bad River Band testifies on Line 5 reroute concerns

The Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and several environmental groups spent two days testifying about the potential harm of a Line 5 reroute project to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Enbridge applied for permits and proposed to reroute the line in 2020 by replacing 20 miles of existing pipeline – including the 12 miles currently within the reservation – with a 41-mile-long stretch of pipe around the reservation in northern Wisconsin.

Line 5 transports 23 million gallons of crude oil and natural gas liquids daily from Superior, Wisconsin, through Michigan to refineries in Sarnia, Ontario for 645 miles through a 30-inch diameter pipe.

The Band is both concerned about water contamination on the reservation, in Lake Superior and in the wetlands that serve as the Band’s wild rice beds and as a critical migratory bird habitat.

“The Line 5 pipeline is a daily threat to our clean rivers and lakes, our fish, and our wild rice,” Bad River Band Chairman Robert Blanchard said in a statement. “If Enbridge is allowed to move this nightmare upstream to get around our borders, it will only endanger more of our homeland. Our drinking water, our way of life, and our very future hang in the balance. During the hearing, our message to Enbridge and to the US Army Corps was consistent and clear: Issuing this permit will violate our water quality standards."

Enbridge told The Center Square that it has received five years of public review and input, making it the most-studied pipeline project in Wisconsin history.

“We’re confident construction impacts from the project are temporary, will have no measurable impacts on water quality, and will not exceed the Bad River Band’s water quality standards,” Enbridge told The Center Square through a spokesperson.

The band and the environmental experts testified that hundreds of downstream wetlands and streams would be polluted by trenching, drilling and backfilling for the reroute.

They also believe that the water quality will decline in the Kakagon-Bad River Sloughs, where the band harvests wild rice. The Band also pointed to how Enbridge spilled more than 69,000 gallons of crude oil in Oakland, located in Jefferson County east of Cambridge, from Line 6 due to a failed gasket flange. The spill was initially reported as a two-gallon spill but further investigation found that it was a much larger spill.

“An oil spill along Line 5 is just a matter of time,” Senior Attorney Stefanie Tsosie of Earthjustice said in a statement. “Enbridge is notorious across the region for its oil spills and aquifer breaches. In fact, one of the largest oil spills in Wisconsin’s history was caused by an Enbridge pipeline several months ago. This week’s hearing covered only a small number of the many good reasons why this project should be denied.”

Hearings will continue on Aug. 12 at Northwood Technical College in Ashland, where the public can testify related to permits from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

There will be a trial-like hearing in Room S149 at the Hill Farms State Office Building in Madison from Sept. 3-12 where environmental groups will present a case against the WDNR permits.