Happy Wednesday!
We love a follow-up and Enbridge’s Line 5 is in the news again. We wrote about the Line 5 and the hurdles it
has had to jump for the part which goes under the Straits of Mackinac back in
May, and their ambitious plan for a tunnel (Please check out our Blog; it’s
pretty cool!). Well, they are in the news
this time for the progress in approvals for the part which goes through Wisconsin.
Did anyone happen to read the
Oil & Gas Journal’s Daily Update on November 18, 2024, their article
titled, “Wisconsin agency approves two permits for Enbridge’s Line 5 reroute
project”? The article is on Enbridge’s
Line 5, a 30-inch OD crude pipeline and the progress it is making on a 41-mile reroute.
Enbridge’s Line 5 has received the first
of its approvals last week from Wisconsin’s Department of Natural Resource (DNR) for its Waterway and Wetland Permits and WPDES Construction Site Storm Water General Permit.
Enbridge’s Line 5 was seeking approval for it to move its pipeline away
from Bad River Reservation where it crossed the Bad River Band of Lake Superior
Tribe of Chippewa Indians’ land. The DNR
Waterway and Wetland Permit has more than 200 conditions to make sure Wisconsin’s
wetland and waterways criteria are met.
The WPDES Construction Site Storm Water General Permit gives Enbridge
the approval to build the pipeline in its respective approved route. Enbridge is seeking four more permits from
the DNR which may include discharge of hydrostatic test water,
dewatering of groundwater as well as others.
The DNR has given Enbridge three years to finish Line 5 reroute as
well as have environmental monitors on the project, and the DNR has the
right of entry during the project for checks.
Enbridge has applied for permits with the U.S. Army Corps (USACE) and are
awaiting their approvals. The seventy-year-old
pipeline was court ordered to move off the Bad River Band’s reservation or shut
down by a federal court in 2023 as well as the court awarded initially $5.15
million to the tribe which will increase every day the pipeline is operating on
the tribe’s land. We wish Enbridge luck in
getting its Line 5 moved. If we hear other
good news on Enbridge’s Line 5 reroute, we will let you know! If you would like more information on this
article from Oil and Gas Journal, please click the links: Wisconsin
agency approves two permits for Enbridge’s Line 5 reroute project | Oil &
Gas Journal.
Don’t forget to check out our ESC website or contact us via the email in the Blog, if
you have a hydrocarbon liquids project you would like to see get off the ground
or you would like to see what’s under your feet to help with your emissions!
We hope you have a great and
productive week!
**Disclaimer: You may be charged a fee to read The Oil
and Gas Journal’s article. **