It was reported today that an Enbridge Energy pipeline in Jefferson County spilled nearly 70,000 gallons of crude oil underground, according to federal officials. In response, Midwest Environmental Advocates issued the following statement.
The close to 70,000 gallons of leaking crude oil from Enbridge’s Line 6 in Jefferson County shows why MEA has challenged DNR’s approval of the Line 5 reroute, and why we have specifically challenged DNR’s conclusion that the risk of a Line 5 spill is small. The risks posed by Line 5 are not small. The harm this pipeline would cause to Wisconsin’s waters and the climate is guaranteed to be significant and could be catastrophic.
Consider that in the very same week that DNR issued permits for Line 5 based on its conclusion that the risk for a spill would be low*, DNR was investigating a significant oil leak on another Enbridge pipeline in Wisconsin.
According to documents from the US Department of Transportation, the faulty segment on Line 6 in Jefferson County has a leak detection system, but that system failed to even detect the leak—much less prevent tens of thousands of gallons of oil from contaminating surrounding land and water in Jefferson County.
But again, in the very same week the Enbridge leak detection system failed in Jefferson County, DNR then gave its approval for the Line 5 reroute in part because “continuous monitoring and control of Line 5 [would be] carried out by Enbridge*.“
DNR’s reasoning for approving Line 5 defies common sense.
* from Finding 62b., page 40 of DNR’s decision to issue an individual wetland and waterway permit with conditions and convey coverage under the department’s Wisconsin Pollution Discharge Elimination System (WPDES) General Permit for Construction Site Storm Water.
