Madison, WI–In response to the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa filing a motion in federal court to immediately shut down the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline, Assembly Committee on Energy and Utilities Chairman David Steffen released the following statement:
“Line 5 is a critical piece of infrastructure that supplies the energy needed to allow Wisconsinites to heat our homes, run our farms and drive our kids to school. Shutting down the line would be a bad idea under any circumstance. However, given today’s uncertain economy, crippling inflation and the war in Ukraine, it would be disastrous to consider taking Line 5 out of operation.
“The filing by the Bad River Band is also difficult to understand considering the Band has for years rebuffed multiple attempts by Enbridge to implement widely used engineering measures to shore up the river bank near the Meander. If the Band is really concerned about the structural soundness of the Meander, they should immediately allow Enbridge to implement the erosion control measures it has been offering to take for years.
“Finally, all concerns about the Meander and the reservation could be alleviated by the DNR issuing the permits that have been pending for three years now to allow Enbridge to move forward with its plan to relocate Line 5 off the reservation.”
For more information please contact the office of Representative Steffen at (608)237-9104 or by email at Rep.Steffen@legis.wisconsin.gov.
