Enbridge’s plan to reroute an aging pipeline around a northern Wisconsin tribal reservation moved closer to reality Thursday after the company won its first permits from state regulators.
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources officials announced they have issued construction permits for the Line 5 reroute around the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa’s reservation. The energy company still needs discharge permits from the DNR as well as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The DNR issued the construction permits with more than 200 conditions attached. The company must complete the project by November 14, 2027, hire DNR-approved environmental monitors and allow DNR employees to access the site during reasonable hours. he company also must notify the agency within 24 hours of any permit violations or hazardous material spills affecting wetlands or waterways; can’t discharge any drilling mud into wetlands, waterways or sensitive areas; keep spill response equipment at workspace entry and exit points; and monitor for the introduction and spread in invasive plant species.
Line 5 transports up to 23 million gallons of oil and natural gas daily from Superior, Wisconsin, through Michigan to Sarnia, Ontario. About 12 miles of the pipeline run across the Bad River reservation.
The tribe sued Enbridge in 2019 to force the company to remove the pipeline from the reservation, arguing the 71-year-old line is prone to a catastrophic spill and land easements allowing Enbridge to operate on the reservation expired in 2013.
Enbridge has proposed a 41-mile reroute around the reservation’s southern border.