(Washington) There is no “imminent threat” of Enbridge Line 5 spilling crude oil in Wisconsin, Alberta company lawyers say in a new batch of court documents on the eve of the hearing which could lead to the closure of the controversial cross-border pipeline.
The stage is set for oral arguments Thursday in Wisconsin’s capital, Madison, as a federal judge will be called upon by an Indigenous community to order taps to be shut off and the contents of the pipeline to be purged, to prevent its rupture and the watershed contamination.
The Lake Superior Chippewa community at Bad River, through which Line 5 passes, argues in its petition that spring flooding along the shoreline has made the risk of a pipeline breach too great to ignore.
In its opposition brief filed Tuesday night, Enbridge says the Indigenous community is exaggerating the risks and engaging in “speculation” that is not based on objective facts. The Calgary company, speaking of “alarmism”, contests the imminent environmental emergency as well as the “draconian remedy” demanded from the federal judge.
Enbridge’s 50-page filing includes an exchange of emails between the company and natural resource officials from the Aboriginal community, to support its argument that the band would not allow it to carry out pipe repair.
And even if the risk of a rupture were high, shutting down the pipeline would not be the appropriate course of action, Enbridge argues, pointing to a court-ordered contingency plan that sets out what to do if the threat is indeed urgent.
“Enbridge will preemptively purge and shut down the line well in advance of any potential rupture,” the memorandum says, adding that this area remains under constant video surveillance, 24 hours a day. “Enbridge will not be taken by surprise,” pleads the company .
Heavy flooding that began in early April washed away significant portions of the shoreline where Line 5 intersects the Bad River, which follows a winding 120 kilometer course and feeds Lake Superior and a complex network of ecologically sensitive wetlands .
The Indigenous community has been in court with Enbridge since 2019 in a bid to force the owner and operator of the pipeline to reroute Line 5 around their traditional territory — something the company has already agreed to do.
But the flooding has turned a theoretical risk into a very real risk, the Chippewa community says, and they want the pipeline closed immediately to avert disaster.
The economic argument
There is also a strong economic argument against shutting down this pipeline, which carries 540,000 barrels of oil and natural gas liquids daily through Wisconsin and Michigan to refineries in Sarnia, Ontario.
Proponents of Line 5, including the Canadian government, say a shutdown would cause major economic disruption in Alberta and Saskatchewan, but also in the U.S. Midwest, where Line 5 supplies raw materials to refineries in Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Line 5 also supplies key refineries in Ontario and Quebec, and is essential to the production of jet fuel for major airports on both sides of the border.
“The implications (of a closure) are significant — not just for Pearson Airport (in Toronto), not just for Detroit Airport, but for our mutual economies,” federal Transportation Minister Omar Alghabra, Ottawa.
Talks have been underway for months under a 1977 pipeline treaty between the two countries, which effectively prohibits either signatory from unilaterally shutting off the flow of hydrocarbons in transit.
Enbridge’s brief asks the judge to grant a 30-day stay, if an injunction is ordered, to give lawyers time to appeal.
And the Canadian Embassy warned this week that should this “specific and temporary flooding” situation result in a shutdown, Canada expects the United States to comply with the treaty, “including the prompt restoration of normal operation of pipelines.
Federal District Court Judge William Conley has scheduled a hearing Thursday before ruling on the Natives’ request for an emergency injunction.