(The Center Square) – The U.S. Department of Justice is asking a federal court to delay the June 16 shutdown of the Line 5 pipeline as the parties await an appeal of pipeline reroute plans in Wisconsin.
The federal filing said that, if Line 5 is shut down in Wisconsin, “America’s energy supply chain would be disrupted and Americans would see increased costs,” Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division said in a statement.
“The Seventh Circuit is considering the case, and the district court should not impose drastic actions in this matter while the case is on appeal.”
The case has been pending appeal since December 2023 and the statement of interest announced Wednesday would allow the pipeline to continue operations.
The Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa filed a December lawsuit challenging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ approval in October of Enbridge permits for a reroute of Line 5 around the band’s reservation in Wisconsin.
In the lawsuit, the band is hoping to block permits granted by the corps for a 41-mile reroute of the Line 5 pipeline in northern Wisconsin that it also has challenged based on the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources permits.
That case is awaiting a ruling.
