Enbridge appeals to vacate an order that would shut down its pipeline
Enbridge energy company is trying to persuade a federal appeals court to allow a pipeline to continue operating on a Wisconsin tribal reservation
MADISON, Wis. — An attorney for the energy company Enbridge tried to persuade a federal appellate court Thursday to vacate an order that would shut down part of a pipeline running through a Wisconsin tribal reservation.
About 12 miles (19 km) of Enbridge's Line 5 pipeline runs across the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa's reservation. The company contends that U.S. District Judge William Conley improperly ordered Enbridge last summer to shut down a section of the pipeline on the reservation within three years. Conley also ordered the company to pay the tribe millions of dollars in trespassing fees, Enbridge attorney Alice Loughran told a three-judge panel at the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago.
She said Conley's order violates a 1977 treaty between the United States and Canada that states no authority in either country shall impede the flow of oil and natural gas through pipelines between the two nations. Enbridge wants to reroute the pipeline around the reservation, but needs more time to secure permits from multiple government agencies, Loughran said.
“The court's shut-down order is prohibited,” she said.
The Bad River tribe's attorney, Paul Clement, implored the judges to go beyond Conley's order. He urged them to shut down the pipeline immediately to protect the environment from a potential spill and increase the financial penalties Conley imposed on Enbridge for trespassing on the reservation.
“Enbridge wants to continue business as usual,” Clement said.
Line 5 transports up to 23 million gallons (about 87 million liters) of oil and liquid natural gas
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