Bad River Tribe will argue to shut down Line 5 in court today!
Written by Jesse Baroka on May 18, 2023
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Attorneys for the Bad River Native American tribe are set to argue in court today that a federal judge should order Enbridge energy to shut down The Line 5 oil pipeline that the tribe says is at immediate risk of being exposed by erosion and rupturing on reservation land in Northern Ashland County. Enbridge’s engineers contend that there is almost no chance the pipeline will be exposed by erosion, let alone rupture, in the next year. The company said in court filings that the tribe hasn’t cooperated with its requests to line the riverbank with sandbags that would protect against erosion. Line 5 has also faced resistance in Michigan, where Enbridge wants to drill a new tunnel under a strait connecting two of the Great Lakes, but Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel have sought to shut down the pipeline. Nessel filed a brief on Wednesday in support of the tribe’s request, saying a rupture in Wisconsin would also cause irreparable environmental damage in Michigan.
