Health Professionals Applaud the Bad River Band as the Contested Case Against Enbridge’s Line 5 Re-route Begins

Permits for Line 5 Put Water and Community Health at Risk

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  

August 11, 2025

Contact: Abby Novinska-Lois

abby@healthyclimatewi.org

608-228-2893                 

Ashland, WI – As a pivotal hearing begins today before an administrative law judge, health professionals are standing with the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and their allies to raise urgent concerns over Enbridge’s proposed reroute of the Line 5 pipeline. Enbridge’s proposed 41-mile reroute threatens wetlands, streams, and the region’s most vital resources, such as the Great Lakes and wild rice beds. Health professionals are particularly concerned about the compounded risks to drinking water and public health that would arise from the blasting, drilling, and trenching during construction and the threat of oil spills. 

Enbridge’s long history of safety violations includes major aquifer breaches and oil spills in Michigan and Wisconsin, revealing a dangerous track record that threatens community health. Oil spills are linked to acute and chronic health problems, including neurological and respiratory issues, immune issues, and cancers. The proposed pipeline crosses many wetlands, streams, and important cultural lands that the Band has depended on for hunting, fishing, and gathering for centuries, putting Tribal communities at risk. The Band has led a heroic fight against Enbridge, which has been trespassing on their reservation for over ten years. Dredging, trenching, and drilling near sensitive waterways would further violate Tribal rights.

“The Line 5 reroute is a clear and present danger to public health. Enbridge has a history of negligence and safety failures. We cannot allow corporate interests to jeopardize the health of our communities, our drinking water, and future generations, especially when the risks are so clear,” said Healthy Climate Wisconsin Executive Director Abby Novinksa-Lois. 

The hearing comes as the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) approved permits for the project in November 2024 despite remarking on the high sensitivity of area waterways in their Environmental Impact Statement (pg. 271-278), and detailing that a spill could cause hazardous exposures and remain in the aquifer for decades, harming drinking water, food chains, and recreational opportunities (pg. 270). 

Permits were contested by the Bad River Band, Clean Wisconsin, and the Midwest Environmental Advocates, which is representing the Sierra Club, the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, and 350 Wisconsin. No construction can begin on the reroute due to an administrative order as the case moves through the courts.

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