Enbridge still working on Line 5 leak in Wisconsin
Trending
Enbridge says it's working around the clock to safely remove remaining vapors from a stretch of its Line 5 pipeline after a gas leak in Wisconsin's Iron County.
Enbridge spokesperson Juli Kellner said specialized equipment is being brought in to conduct work on an isolated section of pipe that was struck around 10 a.m. Tuesday near Saxon.
Enbridge is now saying a parked, unoccupied flatbed truck belonging to a subcontractor rolled into an open excavation site for a Line 5 valve project, striking the pipe and releasing natural gas liquids. Line 5 remains shut down, and about 150 people, including Enbridge personnel and local first responders, are supporting the response.
"For the safety of first responders, the local community, and response personnel, the half-mile evacuation zone around the incident remains in place, as does the 'no-fly' zone over the site issued by the Iron County Sheriff," Kellner wrote.
A nearby home was evacuated as a precaution, and power was shut off to 55 residents to eliminate the possibility of sparking any fires during the leak. Power was restored to all but five homeowners with the help of Bayfield Electric Cooperative and Xcel Energy. No one was injured in the incident or its aftermath.
The company is working with refineries to reduce the effects of the shutdown and hopes to restore service to the pipeline by next Friday, Kellner said.
Enbridge's Line 5 carries up to 23 million gallons of crude oil and natural gas liquids daily and extends 645 miles from Superior, Wis., to Sarnia, Ontario. The 30-inch pipeline runs through the Upper Peninsula, including Dickinson and Iron counties, before crossing underwater at the Straits of Mackinac to the Lower Peninsula.
On Thursday, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources asked Enbridge to halt work on its Line 5 reroute, but the agency is not requiring the company to stop work. A DNR spokesperson said the agency may halt work to enforce compliance with permits for the project, and violations may result in the agency changing or revoking Enbridge's wetlands and waterway permit.
Enbridge did not say Friday whether it would halt work on its Line 5 reroute.
Details of the leak still remain unknown. It's not clear what led the truck to roll into the excavation site, and the amount of the release has not yet been determined or shared. The DNR has asked for details on the worst-case release of propane and butane vapors, as well as air monitoring data that's being collected.
WPR previously reported that air monitoring conducted Wednesday by the Ashland Fire Department's hazardous materials team found no hazardous levels or flammable gas within a 1-mile radius of the incident. The team used a five-gas meter to detect levels of oxygen, combustible gases, carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide and volatile organic compounds.
Monitoring has shown readings that remain below harmful levels, according to the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. A gasoline-like odor may be present over the next several days.
The DNR has also asked Enbridge for information on air modeling, meteorological details of the vapor plume, odors present and other details about groundwater.
The DNR said it hasn't been authorized to access the site due to safety concerns, and the federal Pipeline Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is the lead agency on site. An investigator from PHMSA has been deployed.
Construction of Enbridge's $1 billion reroute of Line 5 has been ongoing. The company is building a new 41-mile stretch around the Bad River tribe's reservation in Ashland and Iron counties.
At least four releases of drilling fluid, or frac-outs, have occurred on the Line 5 project, ranging from roughly 5 gallons to up to 1,900 gallons spilled in late June. A DNR spokesperson said the agency has issued four notices of non-compliance on the project, all of which have been resolved.