Spring Flooding has Worsened River Bank Erosion Near Oil/Gas Pipeline in Northern Wisconsin

Thursday, May 4th, 2023 -- 8:01 AM

(By Danielle Kaeding, Wisconsin Public Radio) Spring flooding has worsened river bank erosion near a Canadian firm's oil and gas pipeline on a northern Wisconsin tribe's reservation, heightening fears among some that the pipe could become exposed.

According to Danielle Kaeding with Wisonsin Pulic Radio, the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and subsidiaries of Enbridge, Inc. filed a joint brief in federal court Monday that states the banks of the Bad River have lost up to about 10 feet in some spots over the past two weeks.

In early April, warm weather caused rapid snowmelt and runoff into the Bad River watershed. According to court documents, the river ran over its banks on April 11 at an area known as "the meander" where erosion threatens to expose Enbridge’s Line 5 oil and gas pipeline.

At one location, the river had come within 25 feet of the pipe in February. That same area had lost 7.5 feet of the river bank as of Friday. "The shortest distance between the pipeline and the River is now roughly 17–18 feet," attorneys wrote in the filing.

The update was submitted as part of the tribe’s years-long federal lawsuit against Enbridge. In 2019, Bad River sued the company to shut down and remove Line 5 from its reservation. The tribe argues the 70-year-old pipeline poses an unreasonable risk to health and safety.

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