(The Center Square) – When Chairman Robert Blanchard thinks about the impact of Line 5’s pipeline through or around the Wisconsin reservation of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior, he tries to think about the impact seven generations ahead.
Blanchard testified on Monday morning in Ashland as the Band and environmental groups attempt to block permits granted by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources for a 41-mile reroute of the Line 5 pipeline in northern Wisconsin.
“It’s all so important to us,” Blanchard told The Center Square. “Our land is our way of life and there’s a lot at stake here. We try to bring that forward.”
Supports of the reroute project have pointed to the an extensive review process for the permits on a project that still needs approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
But Blanchard, along with Mashkiziibii Natural Resources Director Naomi Tillison, groundwater expert Dr. John Bratton, water resources expert Noah Greenburg and wetlands expert Alice Thompson, were set to testify this week on the long-term negative impacts to the tribe and environment from the pipeline.
“I’d like to say everybody” understands the impact, Blanchard told The Center Square following his testimony. “Hopefully we’re getting through.”
Testimony from those opposing the project is scheduled to continue at 9 a.m. this week in Ashland.
Enbridge is scheduled to present its case on the challenged permits Monday through Friday next week in Madison before the Department of Natural Resources presents its case Sept. 29 through Oct. 2.
Enbridge told The Center Square it expects the contested case to be complete this year with federal permits and construction on the reroute starting soon after this case is complete.
Permit applications for the project were initially submitted in 2020, saying the pipeline 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.”
“It’s clear the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources made the right decision when it issued permits for the Line 5 Wisconsin Segment Relocation Project after an extensive and thorough four-plus-year review,” Enbridge said in a statement to The Center Square. “This is the most studied pipeline project in state history.
“The DNR’s Environmental Impact Statement reached the correct conclusion that project construction impacts will be temporary and isolated, with no adverse effect to water quality or wetlands. State permits issued last fall for the project include extensive environmental protections and restoration plans approved by regulators.”
