6/19/23 - Enbridge Told To Shut Down Part Of Line 5 Pipeline

A federal judge orders Enbridge to shut down parts of an oil pipeline in Wisconsin, & pay for trespassing.

- Just before the weekend, a federal judge gave Enbridge three years to shut down parts of an oil pipeline that crosses reservation land in Wisconsin.  The energy company also was ordered to pay a Native American tribe $5.15 million for trespassing.

Members of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa told the judge during a hearing, that the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline is at immediate risk of being exposed by erosion and rupturing on their land.  Parts of the riverbank washed away this year, leaving less than 15 feet of land between Line 5 and the Bad River. 

Environmental advocates reported that exposed pipelines would be weakened and could rupture at any time, causing massive oil spills.

The Line 5 Pipeline is used to carry crude oil and transports up to 23 million gallons of oil and liquid natural gas each day, stretching 645 miles from the city of Superior through northern Wisconsin and Michigan to Sarnia, Ontario. 

Enbridge said the long-term solution to the dispute will be a 41-mile reroute of the pipeline.

Tribal leaders were told last year, that they needed to create an emergency shutoff plan in case there was a risk of the pipeline leaking and given the risk of damage to the reservation and its water supply.