The Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa today filed a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ decision to approve a permit for Enbridge to reroute its Line 5 oil pipeline in northern Wisconsin.
Enbridge is seeking to relocate a 12-mile segment of Line 5 and build a new 41-mile segment around the Bad River Band’s reservation after a federal judge in 2022 ruled Enbridge had illegally trespassed on the tribe’s land.
The tribe has argued the reroute will endanger waters, fish and wild rice beds that citizens rely on. Bad River Band Chairwoman Elizabeth Arbuckle in a statement said the tribe has endured the pipeline’s unlawful trespass for more than a decade.
“The reroute only makes matters worse,” Arbuckle said. “Enbridge’s history is full of accidents and oil spills. If that happens here, our Tribe and other communities in the Northwoods will suffer unacceptable consequences. From the Bad River to Lake Superior, our waters are the lifeblood of our Reservation. They have fed and nurtured our Tribe for hundreds of years. We will do everything in our power to protect them.”
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The lawsuit argues the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers failed to adequately address the environmental impacts of the reroute and to ensure maintenance and construction of the project won’t harm water quality.
Enbridge spokesperson Juli Kellner told WisPolitics the permit in question has not yet been signed by Enbridge or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. She argued until the permit has been signed, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers “has not engaged in a judicially reviewable final agency action.”
Kellner said Enbridge will intervene in the lawsuit.
“Enbridge’s permit applications are supported by thorough and extensive environmental analysis and modeling by leading third-party experts confirming project construction impacts will be temporary and isolated, with no adverse effect to water quality or wetlands,” Kellner said. “Line 5 is critical energy infrastructure serving 10 refineries and propane production facilities – providing raw materials to meet the everyday energy needs of millions of people in the Midwest and Great Lakes Region.”
The Wisconsin Jobs & Energy Coalition in a statement today called the lawsuit “baseless.”
In a separate challenge, the Bad River Band is contesting the Department of Natural Resources’ approval of permits for the reroute. Groups challenging the permits are currently awaiting a decision from an administrative law judge.
