Hold Enbridge Accountable for Its Line 5 Pipeline Bypass

A fossil fuel company should not get to treat environmental laws as optional — especially after one of the largest pipeline spills in Wisconsin history.

On August 25, an unoccupied flatbed truck rolled into a construction trench and struck Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline in northern Wisconsin. The resulting rupture released an estimated 1.3 million gallons of natural gas liquids, primarily propane and butane. Most vaporized into the atmosphere.

Federal pipeline data reviewed by Wisconsin Public Radio indicate it was Wisconsin’s largest reported oil and gas pipeline spill in more than 50 years.

Then Enbridge made matters worse.

To get Line 5 running again, the Canadian oil giant began building a temporary 1,500-foot pipeline bypass around the damaged section.

Wisconsin regulators said Enbridge didn’t have the necessary state approvals. They issued a notice of noncompliance and asked the company to stop construction.

Enbridge kept building anyway.

And for much of that time, independent eyes in the sky were grounded. A no-fly zone over the spill site prevented independent monitors from using drones to document what was happening below. The restriction remained in place for almost three weeks and was lifted on September 14 — the same day Enbridge restarted Line 5. During that period, the public had far less independent visual oversight of the spill response and bypass construction.

Days later, Line 5 was back in service using the new bypass.

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Secretary Karen Hyun accused Enbridge of showing “disregard for the environment, human health, and the statutory authority of the department.”

Now Wisconsin needs to show that its environmental laws have teeth.

The stakes go beyond one unauthorized bypass. Line 5 carries crude oil and natural gas liquids through the Great Lakes region, while Enbridge is building a controversial 41-mile reroute around the Bad River Reservation in Wisconsin. State permits for that project remain tied up in litigation.

At a time when we urgently need to move away from fossil fuels, Wisconsin should not let a pipeline company spill more than a million gallons of fossil fuels, disregard state regulators, and then carry on with business as usual.

Gov. Tony Evers and Wisconsin regulators should hold Enbridge accountable and use every available state authority to reconsider permits supporting Line 5’s continued operation and rerouting.

Please sign the petition to ask Gov. Tony Evers and Wisconsin DNR Secretary Karen Hyun to hold Enbridge accountable and use Wisconsin’s lawful authority to reconsider permits supporting the continued operation and rerouting of Line 5.

The petition to Gov. Tony Evers and Wisconsin DNR Secretary Karen Hyun reads: Enbridge should not be allowed to ignore Wisconsin’s environmental requirements and ask permission later. Take strong enforcement action over the unauthorized Line 5 bypass, hold Enbridge accountable for environmental violations, and use Wisconsin’s lawful authority to reconsider permits supporting the continued operation and rerouting of Line 5.

_______

Source:

https://unicornriot.ninja/2026/canadian-oil-giant-enbridge-builds-unauthorized-pipeline-bypass-following-1-3-million-gallon-spill/