Judge declares Line 5 pipeline will be shut down: "It’s just a question of when"

Bad River Band logo courtesy Bad River Band of Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians.

By Barbara With and Rebecca Kemble*
Posted May 19, 2023, on Wisconsin Citizens Media Cooperative
Reprinted here in part with permission

At a hearing on an emergency motion filed by the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa on May 18, Western District Court Judge William Conley stated that it was only a matter of time before the 70-year-old Enbridge Line 5 crude oil pipeline that runs across the Bad River Band’s territory would be shut down....

Judge Conley said he would deliver his ruling within the next week or two. In his concluding remarks he said plainly, "There’s going to be a shutdown in this portion in the meander. It’s just a question of when."

Afterward, Bad River Chairman Mike Wiggins issued a statement:

"As a sovereign Tribal nation, we did not file this injunction for protection lightly or frivolously. We’ve watched the river live its life and do what it does as a beautiful, pristine life force within our sovereign boundaries. It’s done what we knew it would, continued to erode and pound away at the meander at a particular place where the pipeline crosses, and it’s within a point of imminent threat of blowing that particular area out and rupturing Line 5...."  CLICK HERE to read the rest of this article on Enbridge's criminal trespass on Bad River land and the recent erosion from the Line 5 pipeline, moving closer and closer to a disastrous rupture, as well as the rest of Bad River Chairman Mike Wiggins' statement following the May 18 hearing.

* Editor's Note: Guest authors Barbara With and Rebecca Kemble are journalists for the Wisconsin Citizens Media Cooperative.

Keweenaw Land Association requests DNR metallic mineral releases; virtual public meeting is May 23

The black dots on this map indicate the Michigan state-owned metallic minerals the Keweenaw Land Association has requested to lease -- a total of 2,721.57 acres in Baraga, Dickinson, Iron and Marquette counties. CLICK HERE for a larger map.

LANSING -- Keweenaw Land Association has requested metallic minerals leases from the state of Michigan. The 2,721.57 acres, more or less, are located within L'Anse Township, Baraga County; Breen, Felch, Norway, Sagola, Waucedah and West Branch townships, Dickinson County; Bates and Crystal Falls townships, Iron County; Humboldt and Wells townships, Marquette County; further described as: Leasable Development with Restrictions. (See list below.)

If approved by the DNR, a lease to Keweenaw Land Association, Limited, would grant the exclusive right to explore for the presence of metallic minerals in the described areas. A lease alone does not grant a lessee a right to mine.

The DNR Minerals Management Section will hold a virtual informational public meeting regarding the lease application from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. (EDT) on Tuesday, May 23, 2023. Interested parties may join the meeting by going to
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2737429241521824094.

Based upon the necessary technology to conduct a virtual meeting and offer two-way communication for public comment, registration is required for those who desire to provide public comment during the meeting. Should you not want to provide public comment and desire to only observe the meeting anonymously, or if you do not have internet access, please use the phone option by dialing 1-631-992-3221 and using access code 236-339-288. This meeting will be recorded, and the recording will be made available to the public on the DNR website.

A multi-agency panel will respond to written questions from the public regarding the lease application during this meeting. Questions may be submitted to DNR, Minerals Management Section, P.O. Box 30452, Lansing, MI 48909, or
DNR-LeaseManagement@michigan.gov. Subject line should read: Keweenaw Land Association, Limited. Written questions received by May 16, 2023, will be addressed during the meeting; questions received after May 16, 2023, will be answered via email.

The meeting will also include a public comment period. Anyone wishing to participate in the public comment portion of the meeting will be allowed two minutes to speak.

Leasable Development with Restrictions:

T49N, R32W, Section 01, SW1/4 of NW1/4; Section 02, NE1/4 of SE1/4, SE1/4 of NE1/4; Section 19, S1/2 of SW1/4; Section 30, NE1/4 of NW1/4, NW1/4 of NE1/4, SE1/4 of NE1/4, S1/2 of SE1/4; Section 32, N1/2 of NW1/4, N1/2 of NE1/4, SE1/4 of
NE1/4. (590.48 acres m/l)

T41N, R27W, Section 05, NW1/4 of NE1/4. (40 acres m/l)

T44N, R28W, Section 32, S1/2 of SE1/4, SE1/4 of SW1/4; Section 33, SW1/4 of SW1/4. (160 acres m/l)

T40N, R29W, Section 23, SW1/4; Section 24, NE1/4 of SW1/4, S1/2 of SW1/4; Section 26, NE1/4, NW1/4. (600 acres m/l)

T44N, R29W, Section 01, S1/2 of NW1/4, NW1/4 of SW1/4; Section 02, E1/2 of NE1/4; Section 34, NW1/4 of NW1/4. (242.5 acres m/l)

T39N, R28W, Section 09, S1/2 of NE1/4, SE1/4 of NW1/4; Section 10, NW1/4 of NW1/4. (160 acres m/l)

T43N, R27W, Section 04, NW1/4 of SW1/4, SW1/4 of NW1/4; Section 05, N1/2 of SE1/4, SE1/4 of NE1/4. (200 acres m/l)

T43N, R34W, Section 01, E1/2 of SE1/4. (80 acres m/l)

T43N, R32W, Section 17, NW1/4 of SE1/4. (40 acres m/l)

T43N, R33W, Section 07, N1/2 of NW1/4; Section 11, S1/2 of SE1/4; Section 14, NW1/4 of NE1/4. (200.05 acres m/l)

T45N, R29W, Section 34, W1/2 of SE1/4. (80 acres m/l)

T43N, R26W, Section 06, N1/2 of SW1/4, NW1/4 of SE1/4, SW1/4 of SW1/4. (158.96 acres m/l)

T44N, R29W, Section 01, N1/2 of NW1/4; Section 02, NW1/4 of NW1/4; Section 03, NE1/4 of NE1/4. (169.58 acres m/l)

Editor's Note: For more information on minerals visit https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/managing-resources/minerals. See also the DNR Mineral Management interactive map.

As Bad River heads to Federal Court for emergency shut down of Line 5, area is woefully underprepared for a pipeline rupture

A meeting at the Bad River meander on May 5, 2023, with Enbridge, two engineering firms, Region 5 EPA and Mashkiiziibii Department of Natural Resources. The river bank is now approximately 10-12 feet from the pipeline. (Photo © and courtesy David Joe Bates)

By Barbara With*
Posted May 17, 2023, on Wisconsin Citizens Media Cooperative
Published in part here with permission

The Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa are in Federal Court on Thursday, May 18, to ask the judge to shut down Enbridge Line 5 in the face of the deteriorating conditions of the pipeline and the urgent emergency an imminent pipeline rupture presents to the area.

On November 28, 2022, after finding Enbridge guilty of trespassing, US District Court Judge William Conley issued an order for Bad River and Enbridge to come to an agreement about shutting down the aging pipeline after years of unsuccessful mediation and litigation. Stopping short of ordering the pipeline decommissioned, Judge Conley based his ruling on the idea that "the risk of a catastrophic failure of the pipeline at the meander remains thankfully at least a year away." The opinion was based on "26 or 27 feet of riverbank between the Bad River shoreline and Line 5 at its nearest point."

Drone shots taken on April 11 and May 1 showed erosion due to flooding has swept away the banks, and the shortest distance between the pipeline and the River was roughly 17-18 feet, only four months later. On May 5, the river has rapidly eroded the shorelines to within 10 feet of the pipeline (photo above)....CLICK HERE to read the rest of this article.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel supports Bad River in Amicus Brief

On May 17, 2023, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed an amicus brief in support of the emergency motion filed last week by the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians of the Bad River Reservation asking for the shutdown of Enbridge's Line 5 pipeline as mentioned above.

If the pipeline ruptures, it will release oil and natural gas liquids into the Bad River, which flows directly into Lake Superior a mere 16 miles downstream.

"Lake Superior is a priceless natural and cultural resource and, like all the Great Lakes, it is vital to our way of life in Michigan," Nessel said. "As Attorney General, I owe a duty to the people of Michigan to protect all of Michigan’s waters, not only for us today, but also for future generations. I will always do everything in my power to protect the Great Lakes from the threat posed by those who care more about their bottom line than about Michigan’s residents and natural resources." (Inset photo: Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. Photo courtesy michigan.gov.)

The purpose of the State’s brief is to ask the court to consider the impacts to the State of Michigan, its residents, and its natural resources if the pipeline ruptures and contaminates Lake Superior, and to inform the court that Michigan believes that the risk of a rupture outweighs any risk posed by a shutdown.

Nessel filed a lawsuit in state court in June 2019 to shut down Line 5, saying it was a grave threat to Michigan and the Great Lakes.

* Editor's Note: Guest author Barbara With is a journalist for the Wisconsin Citizens Media Cooperative.