Enbridge Line 5 Pipeline Reroute: 2024 Updates

Drilling for Pipeline Construction Project in Northern Wisconsin. Photo: John Spangberg

Two regulatory milestones for Enbridge L5R

The regulatory process for the controversial Enbridge Line 5 petroleum pipeline re-route (L5R) crossed two major milestones in late summer 2024.

1. On September 6, 2024, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) released its final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Enbridge L5R (see WDNR news release).
2. In addition to that state process, the federal process via the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) concluded a public comment period on August 30, 2024. That public comment period covered the Corps’ Draft Combined Decision Document (DCDD) on the L5R, which includes an Environmental Assessment.

Release of the final WDNR EIS in September paves the way for the WDNR to make permit decisions. Waterway and wetland crossings, along with stormwater erosion control, are the major areas of DNR regulatory authority for the pipeline construction. WGF has been following this issue for years, with experts tracking the regulatory process.

Fast facts about Enbridge L5R

The L5R is the project that would re-route Enbridge Line 5, a petroleum pipeline in operation since 1953, forty-one miles around the Bad River Reservation in northern Wisconsin.

Enbridge is under court order to remove the pipeline from the reservation based on legal action brought by The Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians.

The Tribe did not renew lapsed easements on the reservation for the pipeline. The re-route would move the pipeline upstream of the reservation but remain within the Bad River watershed.

What happens next in the regulatory process?

The Corps also issues permits for placing fill in navigable waterways and wetlands under the Clean Water Act. The State of Wisconsin and Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa must certify that state and tribal water quality standards, respectively, will be met before Corps permits can be issued. The Corps’ DCDD provides the environmental analysis for permit decisions.

WGF comments on the draft DCDD highlight our concerns about the narrow scope of the analysis conducted so far. In our letter, we request that the Corps undertake a broader EIS. We also raised many concerns about the plans for blasting in waterways and wetlands and the limited federal regulatory oversight as described in the document.

WGF has major concerns about the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline and the L5R.

WGF supports tribal sovereignty.

The Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa has had to shoulder unreasonable risks and disproportionate burden by the presence of Enbridge Line 5 on their reservation since the 1950s. The proposed Line 5 re-route, still in the Bad River watershed, does not remove those risks. This is an issue of environmental justice in a culturally and environmentally important area.

The effects of an oil spill in the Lake Superior region would be devastating to tribal and non-tribal communities.

The topography, flashy runoff patterns, and remote nature of the watershed make spill response challenging. Enbridge’s history of spills and aquifer breaches is concerning. Aquifer breaches during Enbridge Line 3 construction in Minnesota, caused by drilling and pounding sheet pile, resulted in uncontrolled high flows of water from groundwater to the surface. If the L5R takes place, the pipeline should be built to the highest safety standards to safeguard local communities and areas of deep and irreplaceable significance: Kakagon and Bad River Sloughs, Copper Falls State Park, and Lake Superior itself. Enbridge must be accountable for preventing spills, aquifer breaches, and damage to private wells and property.

We are experiencing the effects of climate change and we all need a clean energy future.

Continued investment in fossil fuel infrastructure is a concern without independent evaluations of alternatives and societal need. The environmental assessments produced so far do not demonstrate that this pipeline is truly needed from a societal standpoint. WGF’s position on renewable energy is to move rapidly toward renewable energy development and away from fossil fuels. WGF recognizes that the regulatory authority of the Corps of Engineers and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for the L5R is limited in scope. WGF partnered with Midwest Environmental Advocates to produce a series of five guides to educate the public about how oil pipelines are regulated in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin’s Green Fire actions on Enbridge Line 5 and L5R

What has WGF written on Enbridge L5R in the past?

• In 2024, WGF submitted a public comment letter on the Corps’ Draft Combined Decision Document.
• In 2022, WGF reviewed the WDNR’s draft EIS and provided comments.
• In 2021, WGF and partners wrote to the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) on the environmental justice and climate change issues associated with Line 5.
• In 2020, WGF commented on the scope of the analysis and took issue with the DNR’s determinations that the permit applications for waterway and wetland crossings were complete.
• In 2020, WGF prepared an eight-minute video and a series of five guides on oil pipeline regulation in Wisconsin.

What will WGF do next on this issue?

• WGF will review the 2024 final WDNR EIS and evaluate how our comments were addressed.
• WGF will also evaluate permits, if issued.

Timber mat and construction equipment along Enbridge Line 5, 2020, Photo: John Spangberg

If our work on energy policy, climate change, or other topics mentioned here inspired or informed you, please consider supporting our work with a donation to Wisconsin’s Green Fire. An annual gift of any amount makes you a member. Thank you!