Ashland, Wis – Wisconsin’s Agricultural, Labor and Business leaders will ask a Wisconsin Administrative Law Judge today at a hearing in Ashland to reaffirm the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ more than 4-year-long environmental review that found the Enbridge Line 5 relocation project would comply with Wisconsin’s rigorous environmental laws and regulations.
The hearing is a result of opponents of the project initiating the “Contested Case” process against the Wisconsin DNR’s Line 5 relocation project permits. The challenge to the DNR comes even though the DNR spent more than four years compiling and analyzing data, held multiple public hearings and comment periods, and relied on the most state-of-the-art modeling available to make their decision. A nearly 900-page DNR environmental impact statement scientifically and legally justified the issuance of project permits. The DNR also included 231 conditions on the permits to require the strongest environmental standards possible.
“The DNR went above and beyond to ensure the Line 5 relocation project would be completed in a manner that would protect Wisconsin’s Northwoods, but despite the science showing the project was safe, extremists continue to obstruct this critical energy project,” said Dan Olson, International Representative for the Laborers’ International Union of North American and Business Manager for the Laborers’ Local 1091. “Not only has the DNR and EPA confirmed the Line 5 relocation is safe to the environment, but it will also employ 700 union workers and provide tens of millions of dollars in economic development to northern Wisconsin.”
The Contested Case hearing comes just two months after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency refuted claims the Line 5 relocation project would impact the Bad River Reservation’s water quality concluding such assertions were not backed by data, studies or modeling.
“The project has been thoroughly reviewed and exhaustive public hearings and comment periods have been held, it’s time to trust the experts at the Wisconsin DNR and U.S. EPA,” stated Wisconsin dairy farmer and former Dairy Business Association Board Member Paul Fetzer. “Line 5 delivers essential energy — propane, diesel, and gas — that farmers depend on. Ongoing efforts to delay the project put unnecessary strain on agriculture and risk disrupting our food supply.”
“A major propane supplier has already warned shutting down Line 5 could have grave consequences on Wisconsin’s propane supply, putting at risk over a quarter million Wisconsin families who use propane to heat their homes,” said Cheryl Lytle, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Propane Gas Association.“Political ideology doesn’t heat homes, it doesn’t dry crops, and it doesn’t power machinery. The DNR did its job over the last nearly five years and commonsense Wisconsinites support their findings.”
Line 5 is unique because it not only moves crude oil that is refined into transportation fuels, but it also transports natural gas liquids that are made into propane. In fact, a public comment submitted to the DNR by major propane supplier Plains Midstream sent a critical warning that a rejection of the Line 5 relocation project would likely send Wisconsin into a propane state of emergency, leading to supply shortages and massive price increases.
During the Wisconsin DNR’s permitting process, over two dozen of Wisconsin’s leading organizations representing farmers, small businesses, labor unions and papermakers submitted comments in favor of the relocation project. Those groups included the Wisconsin Corn Growers Association, Wisconsin Propane Gas Association, Wisconsin Building Trades Council, Wisconsin Counties Association, Wisconsin Electric Cooperative Association, Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation, Wisconsin Independent Businesses, Wisconsin Industrial Energy Group, Wisconsin Laborers’ District Council, Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, Wisconsin Paper Council, Wisconsin Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Store Association, Wisconsin Pipe Trades, Wisconsin Restaurant Association, Wisconsin Soybean Association, Cooperative Network, Dairy Business Association, Great Lakes Timber Professionals Association, Building Trades Council of South Central Wisconsin, Construction Business Group, International Union of Operating Engineers Local 139, Midwest Food Products Association, North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters, Northern Wisconsin Building and Construction Trades Council and Teamsters Local 346. In fact, an analysis of public records found that Wisconsinites supported the Line 5 relocation project by a 2-to-1 margin during the DNR comment period in 2022.
