Enbridge to Resume Pipeline Rerouting Work Around Wisconsin Reservation After Years of Litigation

Enbridge Begins Rerouting Aging Oil Pipeline in Wisconsin

Enbridge, a Calgary, Alberta-based energy company, has initiated work on rerouting a 12-mile section of its Line 5 pipeline around the Bad River Band of Lake Superior's reservation in northern Wisconsin. This move comes after seven years of legal disputes, despite the presence of two new lawsuits that could potentially delay the project indefinitely.

Line 5, a 73-year-old pipeline, runs across the reservation along the shores of Lake Superior and has been the subject of controversy due to concerns about a catastrophic spill. The Bad River Band and conservation groups have sued Enbridge, arguing that land easements allowing operation expired six years earlier and seeking the complete shutdown of the pipeline.

A judge ruled in 2023 that Enbridge must remove the pipeline segment from the reservation by June 2024. However, the company has now received approval to proceed with the reroute project, with an administrative law judge upholding its state wetlands permit on February 13.

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Enbridge has begun clearing trees in the new segment's right-of-way, a move that has been met with opposition from the Bad River Band and environmental groups. The tribe and a coalition of environmental groups have filed separate lawsuits seeking an immediate stay of the wetlands permit, arguing that regulators underestimated the damage reroute construction will cause.

Line 5 transports crude oil and natural gas liquids between Superior, Wisconsin, and Sarnia, Ontario, serving 10 refineries and propane production facilities that supply millions of people across the Midwest and Great Lakes region. The pipeline is also at the center of another controversy in Michigan, where conservationists and tribes fear a 4.5-mile segment that runs beneath the Straits of Mackinac could rupture, triggering an ecological disaster.