Enbridge ‘must cease’ Line 5 operations on Bad River land by June 2026: judge

WASHINGTON –

A U.S. judge says the controversial Line 5 pipeline can keep operating on an Indigenous band’s Wisconsin territory — for now.

Calgary-based Enbridge Inc. had asked district court Judge William Conley to clarify his recent order to give the company three years to relocate the pipeline.

Conley makes it clear that Enbridge must continue to compensate the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa in the meantime.

And on his three-year deadline, the judge was unequivocal: Line 5 must cease operations on Bad River territory no later than June 16, 2023.

Enbridge expects the approval process for a new, 66-kilometre detour will be complete some time in 2025, and that relocating the pipe will take about a year.

But recent court documents suggest the company had been hoping Conley would amend his order to prevent a Line 5 shutdown before the detour is complete.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 26, 2023.