While Enbridge Pushes Line 5 Project In Wisconsin, Line 6 Spills 70K Gallons Of Oil - Spill Discovered By Chance

A recent oil spill in Wisconsin is exacerbating already tense relationships between state officials and several groups that are fighting to stop a controversial pipeline project from moving forward. For years, the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, along with several environmental groups, have been fighting to stop Enbridge Energy from replacing 41 miles of its Line 5 pipeline that runs through northern Wisconsin. The groups say the project will endanger wildlife and sensitive wetlands used by tribal members.

Wisconsin officials approved two key permits for that project last month following a lengthy environmental review that concluded the Line 5 project could be safely constructed and maintained. But opponents are calling that decision a mistake, pointing to an oil spill at a separate Enbridge pipeline in the state that was reported just days before the Line 5 permit approvals.

On Nov. 11, an Enbridge technician discovered a valve failure that resulted in the release of nearly 70,000 gallons of crude oil from the company’s Line 6 pipeline in Jefferson County, Wisconsin, west of Milwaukee, according to a federal accident report released last week. In the report, investigators noted that the pipeline “was likely leaking for an extended period of time,” and that the employee found the leak during a routine check—indications that Enbridge didn’t immediately notice the problem. The report also said the spill did not result in any injuries or deaths, and that the oil contaminated soil but not groundwater.

Opponents of the Line 5 project say the Line 6 spill, as well as how it was handled, has further eroded their trust in state regulators. Some also criticized the DNR for not making information about the spill immediately available to the public. “The very same week that DNR issued permits for Line 5 based on its conclusion that the risk for a spill would be ‘low,’ DNR was investigating a significant oil leak on another Enbridge pipeline,” Tony Wilkin Gibart, executive director of Midwest Environmental Advocates, said in a statement. “The faulty segment on Line 6 in Jefferson County has a leak detection system, but that system failed to even detect the leak.”

The spill is Enbridge’s worst in Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported, surpassing a 2012 incident that spilled 50,000 gallons in Adams County. But Robert Blanchard, chairman of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, said he didn’t learn about the incident until last week. He called it “a red flag” that authorities didn’t publicly release details of the leak until a month after Enbridge reported finding it.

EDIT

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/18122024/wisconsin-enbridge-oil-spill-eroding-trust/