Legal action
Preventing New Construction on Enbridge's Line 5 Oil Pipeline
Case Status: Active
Midwest Environmental Advocates is taking legal action to stop Enbridge Energy from moving forward with a plan to build a new 41-mile segment of its Line 5 oil pipeline in northern Wisconsin.
Case Summary
Line 5 cuts across the heart of the Bad River Reservation, where it has been trespassing on Tribal land for more than a decade. In 2019, the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa filed a lawsuit in federal court to force its removal. Rather than shut down the aging pipeline, Enbridge applied for permits to build a new 41-mile section of pipeline around the perimeter of the Reservation that would allow the continued operation of the pipeline within the Bad River watershed.
In November 2024, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources issued permits and other regulatory approvals that Enbridge Energy needs to build the 41-mile section of pipeline. Midwest Environmental Advocates is taking legal action to block the permits.
Latest update: In February 2026, MEA filed a petition for judicial review of an administrative law judge’s decision upholding the permits. On May 15, a Wisconsin circuit court ordered Enbridge Energy to pause construction at certain water crossings along its controversial Line 5 reroute project in northern Wisconsin while the court reviews our lawsuit challenging the project’s permits.
Litigation Timeline
December 2024
MEA files petition for a contested case hearing
In December 2024, Midwest Environmental Advocates filed a petition for a contested case hearing challenging permits and other regulatory approvals issued by the DNR. MEA submitted the petition jointly with Clean Wisconsin. We are participating in this case on behalf of our clients, Sierra Club, the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin and 350 Wisconsin. The Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa is also challenging the permits.
The specific permits and other regulatory approvals at issue include the following:
- a wetland fill and waterway crossing permit
- a decision to convey coverage under the department’s General Permit for Construction Site Storm Water Discharge
- a determination that the project will meet State of Wisconsin water quality standards
January 2025
Our petition for a contested case hearing is granted
In January 2025, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) granted our petition for a contested case hearing. In granting the petition, the DNR recognized MEA’s request for a temporary stay on permits and other project approvals and noted the stay would be in effect until the case was referred to an administrative law judge.
An order issued by Administrative Law Judge Angela Chaput Foy on February 28 extended the stay and prevented Enbridge from moving forward with any construction-related activities pending the outcome of the contested case hearing.
August - October 2025
Contested case hearing takes place
A six-week contested case hearing began in August and concluded in early October. Attorneys and expert witnesses presented extensive evidence showing that the DNR failed to adequately evaluate the environmental risks posed by Enbridge’s construction plans. Scientific experts testified that methods such as trenching, blasting, and horizontal directional drilling could cause serious damage to wetlands and waterways. They also criticized Enbridge for submitting incomplete and confusing data as part of its permit application.
Key testimony also came from Bad River Band Chairman Robert Blanchard and Natural Resources Director Naomi Tillison, who testified that the project threatens treaty-protected resources and that previous Enbridge projects on the Reservation had resulted in substantial negative impacts to local wetlands.
February 2026
MEA files petition for judicial review after administrative law judge upholds permits
On February 23, MEA filed a petition for judicial review in Iron County Circuit Court after the administrative law judge issued a decision upholding the permits. We also filed a motion for an immediate stay on construction activities pending a final decision in the case.
May 2026
Circuit court issues decision on MEA's motion for a stay on construction activities
On May 15, a Wisconsin circuit court ordered Enbridge Energy to pause construction at certain water crossings along its controversial Line 5 reroute project in northern Wisconsin while the court reviews our lawsuit challenging the project’s permits. Judge John P. Anderson granted our request for a temporary stay at specific crossing locations after finding that Enbridge’s eligibility for permits at those sites “may be on tenuous legal footing.”
May 2026
MEA files opening brief in Iron County Circuit Court
On May 11, MEA and Clean Wisconsin filed an opening brief in Iron County Circuit Court explaining how the permits were illegally issued and why they must be invalidated by the court.
Pre-Litigation Legal Work (2020-2024)
September 2024 – Analysis of DNR’s Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
MEA attorneys carefully reviewed an 898-page Environmental Impact Statement issued by the Wisconsin DNR.
August 2024 – Comments submitted to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the Corps’ Draft Environmental Assessment
On August 30, MEA and Clean Wisconsin submitted 95 pages of comments to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the agency responsible for reviewing Enbridge’s Clean Water Act permit application. We informed the Corps that it has not adequately evaluated the threat that Enbridge’s plan poses to the waterways and treaty-protected natural resources of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. Contrary to the Corps’ preliminary determination, the proposed reroute will result in significant impacts to the human environment, and a full environmental impact statement (EIS) must be prepared. However, even with the preparation of an EIS, the currently available information, inadequate and incomplete as it is, makes clear that Enbridge’s permit application does not meet applicable standards for issuance and should be denied.
June 2024 – Testimony at U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Hearing in Ashland
At a June 4 public hearing, MEA Attorney Anya Janssen testified about the need for a more thorough environmental review of the project. The EPA has warned that Line 5 construction will have “substantial and unacceptable” environmental impacts, yet the Army Corps has mischaracterized many of these impacts, calling them minor and short-term—a mischaracterization based on information supplied directly by Enbridge. Attorney Janssen urged the Army Corps to independently evaluate how the construction and continued operation of Line 5 would harm natural resources, threaten public health and destabilize the climate.
May 2024 – Letter to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Warning Against Fast-Tracking Permit Approvals
MEA and partner organizations called on the Army Corps to postpone the release of its draft Environmental Assessment (EA) and a scheduled public hearing until the State of Wisconsin and the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa have a chance to provide input. Under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act, the Army Corps may not issue the permit unless the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Bad River Band certify that the pipeline project will comply with state and Tribal water quality standards, something that has not yet happened.
April 2023 – Letter to Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau
In a petition submitted to the U.N. Human Rights Council in 2023, a coalition of fifty-one Tribal and First Nations urged the Government of Canada to reconsider its decision to invoke a 1977 pipeline treaty in an attempt to block the decommissioning of Line 5. MEA co-signed a letter to Prime Minister Trudeau and other Canadian officials supporting the Tribal coalition and objecting to Canada’s disregard for the inherent and sovereign rights of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.
August 2022 – Environmental Review Request Submitted to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
MEA led an effort to urge the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to undertake a thorough environmental review of Enbridge Energy’s proposal independent of the environmental review process conducted by the DNR. MEA’s detailed request was jointly submitted with Clean Wisconsin, Honor the Earth, Sierra Club – Wisconsin Chapter, Wisconsin’s Green Fire, 350 Wisconsin and the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin.
We are urging the Army Corps—the agency tasked with reviewing Enbridge’s federal Clean Water Act permit application—to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) that is independent of the environmental review process being conducted by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The DNR’s draft environmental review has drawn heavy criticism for failing to adequately analyze the harmful impacts of the project.
April 2022 – Analysis of DNR’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement
On April 15, MEA and Clean Wisconsin sent DNR a 150-page document explaining how DNR’s draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) fails to adequately analyze the risks of the project and how construction and continued operation of Line 5 would harm natural resources, threaten public health and destabilize the climate. The document was prepared on behalf of our clients, Honor the Earth, and Sierra Club – Wisconsin Chapter.
March 2022 – Analysis of Enbridge’s Application for Federal Clean Water Act Permit
MEA attorneys scrutinized Enbridge’s Federal Clean Water Act permit request and submitted detailed comments to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the agency charged with reviewing Enbridge’s Clean Water Act permit application.
October 2021 – Request Asking DNR to Require Enbridge to Apply for an Individual Storm Water Permit
On October 8th, MEA submitted a detailed request to the Department of Natural Resources, asking the DNR to require Enbridge Energy to provide more information about how its plans will impact the region’s wetlands and waterways. We asked the DNR to require Enbridge to apply for an individual stormwater permit rather than a general stormwater permit. There’s a big difference between a general permit application and an individual permit application. Requiring Enbridge to apply for an individual permit would require the company to submit more information than what is required by a general permit application. The individual permitting process would also give members of the public a chance to weigh in during a public hearing or comment period, opportunities which are not part of the general permitting process.
July 2020 – Comments on the Scope of DNR’s Environmental Impact Statement
At a DNR hearing on July 1st, members of the public had an opportunity to provide input to the Department of Natural Resources on Enbridge’s Line 5 proposal. Concerned Wisconsinites voiced opposition to the project by a 10-to-1 margin. The following week, MEA attorneys submitted 34 pages of comments to DNR detailing concerns related to the proposal, including the fact that Enbridge’s permit application appeared to be incomplete. Enbridge admitted that it failed to conduct required field surveys for at least thirty percent of the waterways and wetlands along the proposed pipeline route.
May 2020 – Request to Intervene in Public Interest Determination
On May 21st, MEA filed a request 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, Enbridge notified the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin that it was withdrawing its application.
News Related to Line 5
Action Alert: Tell the Natural Resources Board to revoke Enbridge’s Line 5 reroute permit
The Wisconsin Natural Resources Board will meet on September 23 in Sturgeon Bay. We’re asking you to attend — in person or via Zoom — and urge the Board to take action to revoke Enbridge’s reroute construction permit. If you aren’t able to attend the meeting, you can submit a written comment.
Enbridge Defies Wisconsin Regulators in a Race to Complete Unauthorized Pipeline Construction
Wisconsin environmental regulators are warning Enbridge they are prepared to take enforcement action over unauthorized pipeline construction in the wake of a massive natural gas liquids spill. It’s time for the Evers Administration to take decisive action by revoking the permits for the reroute.
MEA and partners file new legal action over stream crossing approvals for Line 5 reroute
This week, the Bad River Band, Midwest Environmental Advocates and other partner organizations filed a new lawsuit in our ongoing fight to prevent the construction of the Line 5 reroute. We filed the lawsuit after the DNR unlawfully issued permit approvals allowing Enbridge to do work at four stream crossings in Ashland County.
Upcoming Webinar: The Public Trust Doctrine in Action
The public trust doctrine is a powerful tool for protecting Wisconsin’s waters for the benefit of current and future generations. In this webinar, we will explore how the public trust doctrine, which has its roots in ancient Roman law, continues to shape some of the most important environmental fights in Wisconsin today.
Circuit Court Issues Order Limiting Pipeline Construction While Line 5 Lawsuit Moves Forward
A Wisconsin circuit court ordered Enbridge Energy to halt pipeline construction at certain locations while it reviews a lawsuit challenging state regulatory approvals for the Canadian energy giant’s controversial plan to build a new 41-mile segment of its Line 5 oil pipeline around the Bad River Reservation in northern Wisconsin.
MEA and Partners Seek Court Order to Limit Line 5 Construction While Lawsuit Moves Forward
At an April 16 hearing, a circuit court judge is expected to decide whether to impose a stay on Line 5 construction activities pending the outcome of a lawsuit filed by environmental groups and the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.