UPDATED: Guest article: Wisconsin DNR still accepting comments on Line 5; Public Hearing on February 2, 2022

By Barbara With*
Posted Jan. 16, 2022, on Wisconsin Citizens Media Cooperative
Reprinted here with permission
See UPDATES below

Map courtesy Carl Sack.

On February 2, 2022, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is holding a public hearing on the proposed reroute of Enbridge Energy’s Line 5. The hazardous liquid pipeline 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.

Under state law, the draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Line 5 must contain information about how the project would impact people, natural resources, and the economy. It must also include an analysis of alternatives to the proposed project.

Members of the public are needed to weigh in on the draft EIS:

https://widnr.widen.net/s/pmjdl6pbpd/el5_drafteis_dec2021_vol1-deis.&nbsp

UPDATED Feb. 2, 2022: The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WIDNR) has extended the public comment period for Enbridge Line 5 draft Environmental Impact another two weeks -- to March  18, 2022. The move was in response to a letter sent by the Wisconsin League of Women Voters and nine other organizations concerned that the period was too short considering the complexity of the project, including the over 400 page draft EIS that was released on December 18, 2021.

REGISTER HERE to testify at the Zoom Hearing, to be held at 4 p.m. CT / 5 p.m. ET, Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022. 

Members of the public who do not wish to provide testimony during the hearing and only want to listen can watch a live feed of the hearing on the DNR’s YouTube channel.

Public comments should be sent:

By email: dnroeeacomments@wi.gov

By U.S. mail:
Line 5 EIS Comments
DNR (EA/7)
101 South Webster Street
Madison, WI 53707

The Danger of Enbridge

Line 5 cuts across the heart of the Bad River Reservation where it continues to operate despite ongoing litigation. Enbridge is also operating Line 5 without permits through the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest and under the Straits of Mackinac, where they have refused to comply with an order from the Governor of Michigan to shut down.

Enbridge proposes to build a new section of pipeline around the perimeter of the Bad River Reservation but still within the Bad River watershed. The construction project -- which would stretch for more than 40 miles and cross nearly 200 waterbodies -- would allow Enbridge to continue operating the pipeline in environmentally sensitive areas of Wisconsin that also include the Lake Superior and Lake Michigan watersheds. Their plans include blasting through the asbestos-rich million-year-old bedrock of the Penokee Hills in order to drill miles of HDD (horizontal directional drilling) under all major waterways in the watershed.

"The State of Wisconsin must ensure that Enbridge is never again allowed to show the kind of disrespect and disregard for environmental regulations they did during recent Line 3 construction in Minnesota," said Paul DeMain of Honor the Earth, "No further pipeline permits should be given to Enbridge -- anywhere in the United States -- until they clean up their mess in Minnesota, where they have ruptured aquifers and spilled chemical drilling fluids into our rivers and wetlands. Wisconsin must do better. The safety of our resources and the public trust of our water hangs in the balance."

The Enbridge Line 3 easement at the headwaters of the Mississippi River after removal of wooden planks reveals the damage they’ve incurred. Rain recharged the aquifers and pushed the drilling fluids to the surface, continually since mid-September, 2021. (Photo courtesy Ron Turney)

"The draft EIS represents a critical opportunity for the public to provide input on a controversial proposal that continues to move forward, despite the harm it will cause," stated Elizabeth Ward, executive director of Sierra Club Wisconsin. "Enbridge’s proposal, which could be devastating for the water and wetlands in the area, directly contradicts the Governor’s Task Force on Climate Change recommendation to avoid all new fossil fuel infrastructure."

"Pipeline construction in the Bad River watershed could cause significant environmental harm that must be prevented," said Midwest Environmental Advocates Staff Attorney Rob Lee. "This project would also facilitate the continued operation of the entire pipeline, which is nearly 70 years old and has already spilled at least a million gallons of oil." 

* Guest author Barbara With is a citizen journalist from La Pointe, Wis.

UPDATE: Red Cliff releases Enbridge draft EIS Fact Sheet

Posted by Wisconsin Citizens Media Cooperative

January 29, 2022

Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe have released a Fact Sheet concerning the Enbridge draft Environmental Impact Statement concerning Line 5 through the Penokee Hills. The Fact Sheet notes how the pipeline could affect Treaty Rights, impact wild rice (manoomin), and threaten Lake Superior fisheries and tribal commercial harvests. CLICK HERE for the Fact Sheet.