Line 5 Wisconsin hearings set; Michigan pipeline permits fast-tracked

A series of hearings related to a challenged plan for a Line 5 reroute will begin next month to determine if Enbridge Energy can begin the project.

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 challenge comes as Enbridge learned the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Michigan have fast-tracked permitting for a $500 million project for 3.6 miles of pipeline tunneled under the straits of Mackinac between St. Ignace and Mackinaw City under an executive order from President Donald Trump related to emergency energy production projects.

The pipeline currently sits on the shoreline in that area. The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy approved Enbridge’s proposal three years ago while the Michigan Public Service Commission sanctioned it in late 2023.

“It may have taken a year, but I’m glad that the Army Corps took my advice and agreed to fast-track the Line 5 tunnel project,” said Michigan Rep. Dave Prestin, R-Cedar River. “It’s moves like this that prove how impactful strong leadership can be. I’m sure the Army Corps saw my letter, but they listened because the administration recognizes the importance of the pipeline and is fighting to keep it open.”

The first virtual hearing for the Wisconsin reroute will be May 13-14, with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers discussing impacts to the Bad River Band’s water quality standards. Afterward, there will be 30 days for public comment on the impacts.

The Band is pointing toward how Enbridge’s 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.

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.

“It’s longer, it has more water crossings and it doesn’t eliminate the risk to the Band and the impact to their watershed in the event of a spill or spills,” Managing Attorney for Earthjustice’s Tribal Partnerships Program Gussie Lord told The Center Square about the reroute plan. “We know that pipelines spill, Line 5 itself has spilled dozens of times during its lifetime, I think 29 times in the past 50 years. The Band isn’t convinced that this reroute is going to protect its watershed, protect the Great Lakes, protect it from an oil spill.”

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. The process included an Environmental Impact Statement and a process to mitigate any project impacts.

“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. “This was confirmed by extensive and thorough sediment modeling by RPS (now Tetra Tech), a firm with over 40 years of experience. The RPS modeling demonstrated that any increase in sediment levels associated with construction would completely clear in hours – significantly less than during an average rainstorm.”

The 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 S149at the Hill Farms State Office Building in Madison from Sept. 3-12 where environmental groups will present a case against the WDNR permits.

The Band will bring witnesses to challenge the adequacy of the WDNR approval of the re-route from Sept. 15-19 at Northwood and then a potential hearing will take place in the same room in Madson from Sept. 22-Oct. 3 where Enbridge and the WDNR will present their cases.

“The project will generate millions of dollars in construction spending in local communities and create 700 family supporting union jobs,” Enbridge told The Center Square through a spokesperson. “Refineries and propane facilities in the Great Lakes region rely on raw materials from Line 5 to produce refined products millions of people rely on every single day.”