“What Line 5 means for me…”
Join Ojibwe attorney Philomena Kebec as she harvests wild rice in the Kakagon Sloughs, the largest undeveloped wetland system on the Great Lakes.
Construction of a new section of the Line 5 oil pipeline prolongs our dependence on harmful fossil fuels, threatens Treaty Rights, and puts some of Wisconsin’s most precious natural areas at risk.
Enbridge, a Calgary-based Canadian pipeline company, is trying to reroute 41 miles of pipeline after a federal court determined the pipeline has been operating in trespass on the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa’s reservation for over a decade. Enbridge’s subsidiary was granted from the Department of Natural Resources that allow the company to reroute Line 5 across dozens of northern Wisconsin waterways and more than 100 acres of wetlands. The proposed route is upstream of Copper Falls State Park and poses a huge risk to the Bad River watershed. Clean Wisconsin and our partners are challenging those permits in a legal proceeding known as a contested case hearing.
Clean Wisconsin has previously submitted comprehensive comments on DNR’s notice of Enbridge pending application and environmental review scope, DNR’s draft Environmental Impact Statement, and the USACE’s permitting process.
Take Action
Move 41.1 Miles in August
Walk, run, bike, roll, paddle, or move however works for you to cover 41.1 miles, the same distance Enbridge wants to reroute its Line 5 oil pipeline through northern Wisconsin’s wetlands, rivers, and treaty-protected lands. The reroute threatens waters that flow directly into Lake Superior, the world’s largest freshwater resource.
Endangered Species Survey
Headed to northern Wisconsin? You can help document rare and sensitive species that could be harmed by the Line 5 tar sands oil pipeline. Follow the instructions on the protected species survey guide.
Clean Wisconsin, partners move to challenge Line 5 permits
Clean Wisconsin is taking legal action to invalidate permits that would allow construction of Enbridge’s Line 5 oil pipeline. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) issued permits in November that would allow Canadian oil giant Enbridge to clear trees, dig trenches and fill wetlands to make way for a new 41-mile segment of its Line 5 pipeline. Read More
In the last 50 years, Line 5 has leaked 29 times,
spilling more than a million gallons of crude oil into the environment.
Originally built in 1953, Line 5 carries nearly 23 million gallons of crude oil and liquid natural gas every day from Superior, Wis. to refineries in Ontario, Canada. Much of that oil originates in the Canadian Alberta tar sands region.
Line 5 currently runs across the reservation of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, but easements that allowed the company to use tribal land expired in 2013. The tribe has since filed a federal lawsuit to expel Enbridge from its reservation.
Enbridge is now pushing to build a new 41-mile section of pipeline that would be routed around the reservation. But moving the line doesn’t eliminate the enormous risk it carries.
(Map Image – courtesy DNR)
This sacred region, its waters, wildlife and traditions, is under threat because of the Line 5 pipeline.
Line 5 carries nearly 23 million gallons of crude oil and liquid natural gas across countless wetlands and waterways.
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