Proposal to Reroute, Not Decommission, Line 5 Ignores Public, Environmental Risks

MADISON, Wisc. - The final Environmental Impact Statement from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has been released. This EIS comes after more than 150,000 concerned citizens called for the decommission, not expansion, of the aging and dangerous Line 5 pipeline.

"Line 5 should be decommissioned, plain and simple. Rerouting it merely shifts the site of a potential ecological disaster and does nothing to mitigate the damage or reduce the community impact," said Beth Wallace, director of climate and energy for the National Wildlife Federation. "Safeguarding Tribal lands and water systems is essential. More than 150,000 individuals have urged the Army Corps of Engineers to block this pipeline from destroying the Bad River. We cannot afford to continue risking these sensitive areas for a project that never should have been allowed here."

Line 5, a 71-year-old oil pipeline operated by Canadian company Enbridge, runs through critical ecosystems, including the Bad River Reservation and the Great Lakes. It has been the subject of increasing concern due to its aging infrastructure and history of spills. The Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, along with environmental advocates and over 150,000 citizens, have called for its decommissioning, citing the risk it poses to freshwater sources, Tribal lands, and local ecosystems. In response, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has released a final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to assess the environmental consequences of the pipeline's reroute, a proposal that has been met with widespread opposition. Advocates urge decommissioning the pipeline altogether to prevent further damage to the region.