Judge gives Enbridge 3 years to close oil pipeline on tribal land in Wisconsin

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MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A federal judge has given Enbridge three years to shut down parts of an oil pipeline that crosses reservation lands and ordered the energy company to pay more than $5 million to a Native American tribe for trespassing.

Friday’s order came from US District Judge William Conley after members of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa told him during a hearing in Madison that the Enbrige Line 5 pipeline was in immediate danger of erosion and rupture on their land.

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The tribe has argued that the emergency exists because large sections of the nearby riverbank have washed away this year, leaving less than 15 feet (4.6 m) of land between Line 5 and the Bad River where it meanders at the reserve.

Experts and environmental advocates have warned in court that the exposed pipelines will weaken and could rupture at any time, causing massive oil spills.

The judge’s order said a rupture of tribal lands “would undoubtedly be a public nuisance” but denied the threat was imminent and said the closure would likely lead to “at least temporary shortages and an increase in refined gas, propane and butane prices in the upper region”. Midwest and Eastern Canada, they are causing hardship, especially for the poor and other economically challenged families.”

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“However, given the environmental risks, the court will order Enbridge to adopt a more conservative plan of closure and disinfection,” Conley wrote.

His order gives Enbridge three years “to stop the operation of Line 5 on any lot within the division’s tribal territory where the defendants lack a valid right-of-way and a reasonable remedy arrangement at those locations.”

Conley also ordered Enbridge to pay more than $5.15 million for trespassing, and to continue paying a portion of its profits to the tribe as long as the pipeline continued to operate on tribal lands.

On Saturday, Enbridge said it plans to appeal and “remains open to an amicable resolution with the Bad River band”. The statement says he does not agree that Enbridge is trespassing and the judge’s order that Line 5 must stop operating on reservation lands within three years.

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Enbridge said a long-term solution to the dispute would be a rerouting of 41 miles (66 km) of the pipeline, but that “the project is dependent on timely government approvals to allow construction to be completed within the next three years.”

Line 5 carries up to 23 million gallons (about 87 million liters) of oil and liquid natural gas per day, and runs 645 miles (1,038 kilometers) from Superior, Wisconsin through northern Wisconsin and Michigan to Sarnia, Ontario.

The Bad River tribe sued Enbridge in 2019 to force the company to remove the 12-mile (19-kilometer) section that crosses their reservation, saying the 70-year-old pipeline is dangerous and that land agreements allow Enbridge to operate on the reservation. expired in 2013.

Conley sided with the tribe in September, saying that Enbridge was trespassing and should compensate the tribe for illegally using its land.

In November, Conley asked Enbridge and chiefs to draw up an emergency closure plan given the high risk of “catastrophic” damage to the reservation and its water supply.

The tribe’s office in Oudannah, Wisconsin, was closed on Saturday, and a phone message seeking comment was not immediately returned.

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