MADISON – An administrative law judge has approved permits issued by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources allowing the reroute of a controversial oil pipeline around tribal land.
Administrative Law Judge Angela Chaput Foy on Feb. 13 upheld DNR permits issued in 2024 allowing Canadian-based Enbridge Energy to move forward with plans to reroute Line 5 around the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa’s land. Foy’s decision knocks down one of the last barriers to the oil giant’s plan.
Environmental advocates said the decision ignored facts.
“Despite this ruling, the evidence presented during the hearing remains undeniable: Enbridge’s Line 5 reroute poses significant long-term risks to wetlands, waterways, and treaty-protected resources in northern Wisconsin,” said Clean Wisconsin Attorney Evan Feinhauer in a media release.
“Experts testified that the DNR underestimated ecological impacts, relied on an inadequate monitoring plan, and overlooked Enbridge’s troubling history of environmental violations. This decision does not erase those facts.”
Others vowed to keep fighting against the pipeline.
“The record in this case is clear, and our work is far from over. Based on the significant legal issues presented and the strength of the record, we believe there is a strong basis for appellate review, and we are considering all appropriate next steps,” said Midwest Environmental Advocate Attorney Rob Lee in a statement.
Enbridge celebrated the ruling.
“The Administrative Law Judge has confirmed what expert testimony in the case clearly established – the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources made the right decision when it issued permits for the Line 5 Wisconsin Segment Relocation Project after an extensive and thorough four-plus-year review,” said Juli Kellner, a spokesperson for Enbridge.
The Bad River Band and environmental groups filed separate petitions after the DNR issued its permits, arguing the natural resource agency did not follow state law. The environmental groups that petitioned included Clean Wisconsin and Midwest Environmental Advocates, which filed on behalf of the Sierra Club, 350 Wisconsin and the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin.
The petitions resulted in weeks of expert testimony over the summer, hosted both in Ashland and Madison.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued its permit for the reroute project in northern Wisconsin last year amid the federal government shutdown, with very little detail.
That permit has been challenged by the Bad River Band in federal court. There is no timeline for that decision.
With the DNR permits now solidified, the project will likely begin to move forward in Wisconsin’s Northwoods. Kellner said the final permits needed will be signed and finalized in the coming days, meaning construction could potentially start soon.
The Canadian energy giant first proposed its 41-mile reroute around the Bad River Band’s land in 2020. The new stretch of pipeline would go south of the Band’s land, farther inland into Ashland and Iron counties. It would go through Iron County State Forest, around Copper Falls State Park and cross more than 180 Lake Superior tributaries, including the Bad River.
The 2021 estimate suggested it would cost $450 million.
Laura Schulte can be reached at leschulte@jrn.com and on X @SchulteLaura.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Judge upholds DNR permits for Line 5 reroute, clearing major hurdle
Reporting by Laura Schulte, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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