Enbridge Line 5 Pipeline Updates – March 2025
Wisconsin's Green Fire, March 3, 2025
Enbridge Line 5 Updates: Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians Denies Water Quality Certification for Enbridge Line 5 Oil Pipeline Re-route
Will Trump Administration Energy Emergency Executive Order Affect Line 5?
Prepared by Nancy Larson, WGF Water Resources Specialist
Inter-Related Regulatory Decisions
Existing pipeline on east end of the Bad River Reservation, 2022, photo by Jenny Oren, WGF
On February 11, 2025, the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians issued a determination that the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline re-route construction proposal would not meet the Band’s standards to protect water quality on the reservation. This determination, under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act, impacts federal permitting to cross waterways and wetlands.
The Bad River Band’s letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACOE) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) conveys its detailed evaluation of how the project would impact specific rivers and streams as well as its projected effects on wetlands and hydrology. The Bad River Reservation is just downstream of the proposed re-route. The Band sued Enbridge to remove the pipeline from the reservation.
The Bad River Band received federal “Treatment as a State” under the Clean Water Act (CWA) in 2009. Upstream project applicants must demonstrate that the Band’s water quality standards would be met at the reservation boundary. In order to issue federal permits, the USACOE needs certification from the state of Wisconsin and the Bad River Band that the project would meet water quality standards of their respective jurisdictions.
The Wisconsin Department Natural Resources (WDNR) issued permits for waterway crossings, wetland fill, and erosion control, for the pipeline re-route on November 14, 2024. The WDNR permits serve as the state’s certification under Section 401 of the CWA that the action would meet state water quality standards. Several groups have brought legal action challenging the WDNR permits, so the permits are not currently in effect. The Bad River Band’s denial of 401 certification and the legal challenges of the state permits are current barriers to the federal permits.
Pipeline opponents often wonder why the WDNR “approved” the Line 5 Re-route. However, Wisconsin’s regulatory authority over the pipeline is very limited. The state has the authority over whether and how waterways are crossed and wetlands are filled. The state also issues stormwater permits outlining steps to prevent erosion during construction. The legal challenges to waterway, wetland, and stormwater permits will test whether these permits were appropriate under the law.
- See WGF / MEA Pipeline Fact Sheets from 2020 for more information.
- A Guide to the Environmental Review Process for Oil Pipeline Construction in Wisconsin
- A Guide to Agency Permits Approvals for Pipeline Construction in Wisconsin
- A Guide to Water Resource Permitting for Pipeline Construction in Wisconsin
- A Guide to Tribal Rights and Resources from Oil Pipline Construction in Wisconsin
- A Guide to Local Government Regulation of Oil Pipelines in Wisconsin
Wisconsin’s Green Fire (WGF) Shares Concerns with the Bad River Band and other partners
WGF has many concerns about Line 5, but paramount is the potential for an oil spill to damage Lake Superior, its tributaries and wetlands. In the Straits of Mackinac, an oil spill from Line 5 could cause far-reaching damage in the Great Lakes. The November 2024 Enbridge Line 6 spill in southern Wisconsin, and the delay in reporting, add fuel to our concerns about the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline. The experience of horizontal directional drilling fluid releases and aquifer punctures reported by citizens during Enbridge Line 3 construction in Minnesota brings home the vital importance of close regulatory oversight for pipeline construction and operation.
- See WGF’s December 19, 2024 story summarizing our concerns about Line 5.
Many questions remain about environmental oversight for Line 5
It isn’t clear how the Trump Administration’s executive order declaring an energy emergency will affect permitting and regulatory oversight of Enbridge Line 5.
While the federal permits for the Line 5 Re-route in Wisconsin are pending, there is another important part of the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline undergoing environmental review for federal permitting: the tunnel under the Straits of Mackinac.
E&E News, an on-line news service reports that the permit for the tunnel under the straits of Mackinac has been listed by the USACOE for consideration of emergency treatment, which could mean the permit would proceed without environmental review.
WGF will continue to watch for developments on Enbridge Line 5 and provide fact-based information to our members.
Mackinac Bridge, Michigan, photo via Flickr
Note: The Bad River Band’s letter to the USACOE and USEPA was accessed through Wisconsin Public Radio’s February 17, 2025 story: “Bad River tribe says Enbridge’s Line 5 reroute will violate its water quality standards.”
More from WGF on Enbridge Line 5 and the Line 5 Reroute (L5R):
WGF Comments on Enbridge Line 5 Re-Route draft Environmental Impact Statement
WGF and Partners Submit Letter to CEQ on Enbridge Line 5 Environmental Impact Review
A Guide to WATER RESOURCE PERMITTING for Pipeline Construction in Wisconsin
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