Overview:
Tribes and other Wisconsin organizations are urging Gov. Tony Evers to halt Enbridge’s Line 5 reroute project following a major natural gas liquids spill, citing the company’s history of pipeline incidents and risks to the Great Lakes.
Tribal leaders and organizations from across the Great Lakes Region called on Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) Thursday to halt Enbridge’s Line 5 reroute project and take action against the company following a major natural gas liquids spill in northern Wisconsin.
The press conference came two weeks after an Enbridge pipeline rupture released approximately 31,000 barrels, or 1.3 million gallons, of natural gas liquids. Advocates described the incident as the largest pipeline spill of its kind in Wisconsin’s recent history.
Bad River Tribal Elder Joe Bates, who obtained some of the first footage of the recent spill, described what he witnessed after receiving a call about the rupture.
“I got the call, and I went down to the site. I had no idea what I was about to see. The plumes of gas were like nothing I’ve ever seen before,” Bates said.
The call for action also followed Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s announcement Wednesday that she will reconsider state permits for Enbridge’s proposed Line 5 tunnel project beneath the Straits of Mackinac. Whitmer also reiterated her opposition to continued Line 5 oil transport through the Straits.
“Yesterday, Governor Whitmer announced that she plans to spend her last three months as Governor cementing her legacy. She will prioritize protecting the Great Lakes from the catastrophic oil spill that Enbridge’s track record is moving towards. Today, we’re calling on Governor Evers to do the same and leave a legacy of putting people and our water above corporate interests,” said Elizabeth Ward, director of the Sierra Club Wisconsin Chapter.
Dozens of organizations sent a letter Thursday to Evers and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Secretary Karen Hyun, calling on state officials to hold Enbridge accountable and shut down Line 5.
The signatories include local organizations such as the Chequamegon Audubon Society; statewide groups including the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation and Wisconsin Ecolatinos; and regional and national organizations such as the Great Lakes Business Network and Indigenous Environmental Network.
The organizations represent sportsmen, businesses, environmentalists, Indigenous peoples, religious leaders, clean water advocates and others who oppose continued operation of Line 5.
Pipeline Safety Trust Director Bill Caram said the scale of the incident places it among the most serious pipeline spills in the country in recent decades.
“We can go back about 40 years of that data, back to 1986. And based on that data, this is the largest pipeline spill of any kind in the state of Wisconsin. [It’s] in the top 5 of highly volatile liquid spills… in the entire country in those 40 years, and it’s in the top 15 of any kind of hazardous liquid pipeline spill in that 40 years,” Caram said.
Beth Wallace, National Wildlife Federation Great Lakes Climate and Energy director, drew on her experience with the 2010 Enbridge oil spill in Michigan’s Kalamazoo River watershed.
“Enbridge’s active spill in Wisconsin…should be the final example we need from Enbridge on our way to orderly decommissioning this pipeline, which is the only path forward,” Wallace said.
Jadine Sonoda, Sierra Club Wisconsin campaign coordinator, said the latest rupture is part of a broader history of incidents involving Enbridge.
“This rupture site is just one in a long history of Enbridge failures. Why are we accepting a company that does repeated damage? I’m not willing to accept that the best we can do is ensure ‘good cleanup.’ Right now we have the opportunity to prevent more harm. Governor Whitmer’s opposition to Enbridge’s tunnel project is the kind of leadership we need to see in Wisconsin. Governor Evers needs to live up to this standard set by our neighbors – anything less tells all of us in Wisconsin that he’s siding with a billion-dollar company over the people he represents.”
The groups are urging Evers to take action similar to that announced by Whitmer and to reject efforts to extend the life of Line 5, which carries petroleum products through Michigan and Wisconsin.
Their demands come as scrutiny of Line 5 intensifies across the Great Lakes, with environmental and Indigenous groups arguing that continued operation poses unacceptable risks to the region’s water resources and communities.
