Midwest Environmental Advocates is a nonprofit law center that combines the power of law with the resolve of communities facing environmental injustice to secure and protect the rights of all people to healthy water, land, and air.

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Home » Our Work » Request to Intervene in Line 5 Public Interest Determination

Request to Intervene in Line 5 Public Interest Determination

— On May 21, 2020, MEA requested to intervene in a case involving an application submitted by Enbridge Energy seeking authorization to condemn private property rights in order to construct a new segment of Line 5 around the Bad River Reservation.

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On May 21st, 2020, Midwest Environmental Advocates (MEA) requested to intervene in a case involving an application submitted by Enbridge Energy requesting authorization to condemn private property rights in order to construct a new segment of Line 5 around the Bad River Reservation.

The request to intervene was filed on behalf of Sierra Club - John Muir Chapter, Honor the Earth, League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, Superior Rivers Watershed Association, and 350 Madison.

On August 7th, notified the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin that it was withdrawing its application. All indications are that the multinational energy company still intends to pursue the project, which means that the Bad River Watershed, Lake Superior, and communities across northern Wisconsin remain vulnerable to the harms caused by the construction and continued operation of Line 5.

Resources:

August 10th Statement
Press Release - May 21, 2020
Press Conference Recording - May 21, 2020

Case Summary

Line 5 is a hazardous liquid pipeline that conveys light and synthetic crude oil and natural gas liquids from Superior, Wisconsin to Sarnia, Ontario through northern Wisconsin and both the Upper and Lower Peninsulas of Michigan. The current route cuts across the heart of the Bad River Reservation where the continued operation of the pipeline despite expired easements has led the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa to file suit against Enbridge. In the lawsuit, the Band is seeking removal of the pipeline from the Reservation.

Given its route through the Bad River watershed, a major spill from Line 5 could have unprecedented environmental and economic impacts in both the Bad River and its tributaries, as well as the shores and open water of Lake Superior. The Bad River watershed also contains the Kakagon-Bad River sloughs, a wetlands complex with regional, national, and international significance. Since Line 5 was brought online in 1953, it has spilled more than a million gallons of oil. Rather than remove Line 5 from Bad River watershed altogether, Enbridge plans to simply reroute the pipeline around the perimeter of the Bad River Reservation.

On February 7, 2020 Enbridge Energy submitted a Public Interest Determination Application to the Public Service Commission seeking authorization to condemn private property rights in order to construct a new segment of Line 5 around the Bad River Reservation.

Before the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) can grant Enbridge the authority to condemn the property rights identified in its application, the PSC must determine that doing so is “in the public interest.” The organizations represented by MEA believe that the answer is clearly no and that the significant adverse impacts of construction and operation of the pipeline far outweigh any potential benefits to the public.

On May 21st, MEA filed a request to intervene in the case.The request to intervene was filed on behalf of Sierra Club - John Muir Chapter, Honor the Earth, League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, Superior Rivers Watershed Association, and 350 Madison.

These five organizations are asking the PSC to conduct a full administrative hearing that will allow it to perform a meaningful cost-benefit analysis based on the actual and potential costs of the project. These include the adverse environmental costs of construction, the significant risks associated with a potential spill, and the catastrophic impacts to public health, the environment, and the economy that will result from continued reliance on fossil fuels.