(Washington) A US judge has ordered Enbridge to pay $5.1 million to the Chippewas of the Bad River First Nation in Lake Superior. The company will also have to remove the infrastructures of this territory within three years.
In his ruling on Friday, however, Judge William Conley did not order the controversial cross-border pipeline to be closed immediately.
According to the judge, the risk of a breach in the infrastructure of line 5 crossing the territory of the First Nation meets the definition of public nuisance of the American federal law.
He adds that Enbridge has been encroaching on this territory since 2013 since the company let certain permits expire.
Enbridge has already agreed to relocate the pipeline, critical infrastructure supplying energy to much of the US Midwest as well as Ontario and Quebec.
A spokesperson, however, said the company will appeal the three-year deadline given by Judge Conley. For Enbridge, the decision is wrong on a legal level since it will require the closure of the infrastructure that the judge did not order.