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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Wednesday approved energy company Enbridge’s plan to re-route an old oil pipeline around the Northern Territory. wisconsin Tribal reservation.
Enbridge wants to build a new 41-mile (66-kilometer) section of the pipeline around the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa reservation to replace a 12-mile (19-kilometer) section that now crosses tribal lands.
The tribe wants the pipeline through its land. But the tribe, along with environmental groups, argue that regulators have underestimated the environmental harm of construction and that the project perpetuates the use of fossil fuels. Opponents are suing to try to overturn the construction permit issued by the state of Wisconsin.
But the Army Corps of Engineers approved a separate federal permit on Wednesday.
“The approval of the Enbridge Line 5 rerouting application is a major success and will advance the President’s energy dominance agenda for America,” Adam Telle, assistant secretary of the Army for civil operations, said in a statement.
Calgary, Alberta-based Enbridge has been using Line 5 to transport crude oil and natural gas liquids between Superior, Wisconsin and Sarnia, Ontario since 1953. The company called the federal approval “a major project milestone.”
A decision on the separate state permit challenge is expected in the coming months. Construction Meanwhile it has been put on hold.
“We are confident the state permit will be confirmed soon. Once that happens, Enbridge expects the proposed permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to be signed and finalized, allowing construction to move forward,” Enbridge spokeswoman Julie Kellner said in an email.
Environmental groups described the Corps’ decision to grant the federal permit as “premature and unlawful” because the state permit is pending litigation.
Rob Lee, staff attorney at Midwest Environmental Advocates, said in a statement, “This is a clear violation of the Clean Water Act. It appears the Army Corps is rushing ahead with a fossil fuel project at the expense of environmental protections and the legal process.”
The Wisconsin project is separate from Enbridge’s plan to build a protective tunnel to surround a separate section of Line 5 michigan It runs for 4 miles (6 kilometers) down the Strait of Mackinac, connecting Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. The applications are still pending before Michigan and federal regulators, and litigation is ongoing.
The Corps ramped up work on that $500 million-plus project in April chairman donald trump Ordered federal agencies to identify energy projects for expedited emergency permitting.
Conservationists and tribes have opposed Michigan’s proposal, calling it too risky and calling on Enbridge to shut down the pipeline.
Concerns about the rupture and catastrophic spill of the Michigan section have been growing since 2017, when Enbridge officials revealed that engineers had known about gaps in the section’s coating for three years. In 2018 a boat anchor damaged the line, further increasing fears. Enbridge says the segment is structurally sound.