Calls for state action after Line 5 gas leak in Wisconsin
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Tribal nations and environmental groups are urging state officials to take stronger action against Enbridge after the largest oil and gas pipeline spill ever reported in Wisconsin.
The Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Earthjustice and other Midwest environmental advocates expressed frustration at a news conference Wednesday over Enbridge's Line 5 reopening without receiving state permits for a bypass around the site of a gas leak.
They called for Gov. Tony Evers to make a state disaster declaration related to the gas spill and for the state to revoke permits issued for a new segment of the pipeline around the Bad River Band's reservation.
A flatbed truck struck the pipeline in Iron County late last month, damaging the line and releasing more than 1 million gallons of natural gas liquids. Line 5 reopened over the weekend after the state Department of Natural Resources asked Enbridge to stop construction on the bypass because the company lacked state approvals.
The pipeline generally carries up to 23 million gallons of crude oil and natural gas liquids daily between Superior and Sarnia, Ontario. Line 5 runs through the Upper Peninsula, including Dickinson and Iron counties, and under water in the Straits of Mackinac to reach Lower Michigan.
Liz Arbuckle, chair of the Bad River Band, said she's concerned because the spill site is roughly 3 miles from the tribe's reservation. She said the Bad River tribe would be declaring the spill a disaster, and they want to see the state do the same.
"There are a lot of dangers and risks to our people," Arbuckle said. "This is our treaty-ceded territory -- this is where our people have always fished, gathered, lived, and all of that's at risk."
A spokesperson for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources declined to comment, as did a spokesperson for the governor's office.
Enbridge spokesperson Juli Kellner said in an email the company is working on ongoing environmental remediation and monitoring.
"Testing of surface water and from a nearby residential well continues to show no impacts. Water monitoring wells continue to show no contamination," she said. "Soil and water monitoring are in place, as are plans to test, remove and properly dispose of the soil in the trench. Wildlife has not been impacted."
Kellner also said construction of the bypass was done consistent with conditions set in existing permits and in compliance with federal regulation. She said the company was in daily communication with the DNR and state agency staff were on site periodically during construction.
"We continue to work with the DNR on relevant permitting and separately on environmental conditions at the incident site," Kellner wrote.
After last month's spill, Stefanie Tsosie, an attorney for the Bad River Band, said the tribe wants the state to revoke permits awarded to Enbridge for a new segment of the pipeline around the reservation.
She said a condition in the permit allows the DNR to revoke a permit for "good cause."
"We really need DNR to protect its integrity as a permitting agency, to actually go back and revisit its permitting decisions when it has these conditions in there, and enforce the law (to) protect the people and the natural resources that it's charged to protect," Tsosie said.
Beyond revoking permits for the new segment, Beth Wallace, Great Lakes climate and energy director of the National Wildlife Federation, called for Evers to work toward decommissioning Line 5.
Wallace pointed to action taken by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who called for Enbridge to remove Line 5 from the Straits of Mackinac and announced a new regulatory review of permits Michigan previously issued for a Line 5 tunnel project.
"We are asking that Gov. Evers take very similar steps to Gov. Whitmer in looking at options for an orderly decommissioning of Line 5 -- this should have been the last straw on Line 5," she said. "Gov. Evers needs to really enforce his authority in this moment."