(The Center Square) – Opening statements were given Tuesday as the groups contesting permits for a Line 5 reroute around the Bad River Band reservation claimed the plan continues to carry heavy risk and those supporting the 41-mile new section of pipeline say that permit requirements have been met to begin work.
The Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration applauded the efforts of the band, Midwest Environmental Advocates and Clean Wisconsin to block the work.
Permits from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources were granted in November while federal permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are still required.
“Continued spills along the pipeline’s route through Wisconsin are a real threat,” FSPA Vice President Sister Georgia Christensen said in a statement. “The environmental toll of such incidents devastates our waterways, wildlife and local economies; we must consider the alternatives outside of Line 5. And, we must honor the rights of the Bad River Band; it is unacceptable to violate water quality standards and resources for all.”
The group cited an Enbridge Line 6 spill report from December showing that more than 69,000 gallons of crude oil was spilled in Oakland, located in Jefferson County east of Cambridge, due to a failed gasket flange.
Those supporting the project say the four-year permitting process was thorough with data, hearings, public hearings and state-of-the-art modeling along with a 900-page DNR environmental impact statement.
“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,” Wisconsin dairy farmer and former Dairy Business Association Board Member Paul Fetzer said in a statement. “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.”
The Wisconsin Jobs and Energy Coalition supports the Enbridge project moving forward to replace a 12-mile section of the pipeline through the Bad River Reservation in northern Wisconsin.
Public testimony will continue on Sept. 3 at Hill Farms State Office Building in Madison. Individuals must have signed up to speak at Tuesday’s opening hearing.
Midwest Environmental Advocates and Clean Wisconsin will then present their case on from Sept. 4-12 in Madison at the same building before the Bad River Band presents its case Sept. 15-19 in Ashland.
The Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission said that it believes the pipeline brings serious risk to water quality for the Bad River Band and surrounding residents.
“Enbridge used inadequate hydrologic data in its analysis, which drastically underestimates the degree of hydrologic connection between the new pipeline right-of-way and the reservation,” the group said in a statement. “This, in turn, led to
underestimating the degree and magnitude of contaminant and sediment transport to the reservation where the tribe’s water quality standards apply.”
