Washburn, Wis – Wisconsin’s ag community, small businesses and labor unions are celebrating Friday’s ruling from Bayfield County Circuit Court Judge John P. Anderson rejecting the request to stay the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources permits allowing for the construction of the Line 5 Relocation on all but four water crossings where additional permits are already well along in the permitting process. The decision is the most recent affirmation the project, which the DNR has said is the most studied in its agency’s history, meets Wisconsin’s strict environmental standards.
“This decision further reaffirms the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources did their job diligently and the Line 5 Relocation can and will be built safely and without harming our state’s environment,” said Terry McGowan, President and Business Manager of the Operating Engineers Local 139. “The 700 union men and women that will work on the Line 5 Relocation Project have waited long enough; it’s time for them to get to work.”
Judge Anderson’s ruling is the most recent failed legal maneuver by project opponents to stop construction after receiving permits from the Wisconsin DNR through its exhaustive, four-year long, review of the project. A review that included multiple public hearings and public comment periods, a deep analysis of thousands of pages of data, studies and modeling, and the issuance of a nearly 900-page Environmental Impact Statement.
Opponents had previously challenged the Wisconsin DNR permits through a “contested case” process, but, earlier this year, a Wisconsin Administrative Law Judge upheld the permits, noting throughout her ruling opponents had failed to provide evidence showing the permits were improperly granted.
“Wisconsin’s farmers depend on the propane and fuel made possible by Line 5,” added Chad Zuleger, executive director of the Dairy Business Association. “We’re happy to see yet another judge confirm the environmental protection process was followed and we look forward to construction moving forward.”
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.
“Our state’s economy and small businesses depend on the fuel made possible by Line 5 to move goods, power machinery, and heat their rural businesses,” said Brian Dake, president of Wisconsin Independent Businesses. “I hope this latest ruling will convince project opponents to stop these legal games and allow this critical energy pipeline to continue operating.”
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.
