Shut Down Line 5

Most recent update:

The Fight to Shut Down Line 5 Continues in Court

This Spring, the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and environmental groups, including Sierra Club and our partners at the Midwest Environmental Advocates, Clean Wisconsin, 350 Wisconsin, and the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, asked a Wisconsin circuit court to consider whether state permits for the Line 5 reroute were appropriately granted. In doing so, we also asked the judge to pause construction while he considers the case. Our petition clearly shows significant risks to wetlands, water quality, and treaty-protected resources, and that the permitting process did not meet state environmental laws. Enbridge is desperately asking the court to allow construction to move forward.

While this court case proceeds, Enbridge has also applied for four additional permits for work at stream crossings along the proposed reroute. The projects Enbridge proposes are permanent stream bank stabilization structures and the proposed reroute cannot be finished without them. Despite the necessity of these projects to the overall Reroute, Enbridge has failed to secure the necessary property interests at the four proposed project locations to be eligible for the permits it has applied for. If these permits are approved they will violate the rights of nearby riparian zones and the public, and facilitate the continued operation of Line 5, putting the people, land, and waters of northern Wisconsin at risk for decades to come. Join us in submitting a public comment asking the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to deny them!

You can also share your opposition at an online public hearing on Wednesday, April 22nd at 12pm. Join us in celebrating earth day by protecting the water! See details and sign up for talking points here.

Take Action: No stream crossing permits for Enbridge

Deadline: May 2

As the work to Shut Down Line 5 and prevent the proposed reroute continues, Enbridge has applied for new permits to do work at four stream crossings. Join us in submitting a public comment asking the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to deny them!

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Upcoming Events: Public hearing - No stream crossing permits for Enbridge

Date: April 22, 12pm

Join us in attending a virtual public hearing about Enbridge's stream crossing work permits. Share your opposition! 

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Why it Matters

In 2013, Enbridge’s 50-year lease for the Line 5 oil pipeline through the reservation of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa expired. Despite Bad River's request that Enbridge remove the pipeline, Enbridge has refused. In July 2019, the Bad River Band sued Enbridge to force them to remove the pipeline. The risk of an oil spill is too high, given the importance of the water in the area for the Band and Tribal members to fish, gather wild rice, etc.

The pipeline is over seventy years old, and Bad River has found parts of the pipeline that are uncovered, presenting increased risk. Most pipelines are buried, but because of erosion, 50 feet of the pipeline is exposed, and some parts are unsupported because the ground beneath it has eroded away. This is extremely dangerous and could lead to a spill.

Bad River has called on Enbridge to shut down the pipeline and to not replace it in the watershed. All of the rivers in the area flow north towards Lake Superior, through the reservation, so moving the pipeline to a different part of the watershed will not reduce the risk to the waters.

Nonetheless, Enbridge is forging ahead with forcing this "reroute" in an area where people do not want it.

This pipeline poses huge risks to our waterways. Enbridge's proposed route is upstream of Copper Falls State Park. This is all on top of the concerns about the Line 5 pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac, which connects Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.

We need Enbridge to decommission Line 5 to protect Tribal land, the Great Lakes, and the climate.

Learn More: sierraclub.org/wisconsin/line-5