As Canadian energy giant Enbridge deals with another allegedly suspicious fire along its Line 5 oil and natural gas liquids pipeline in northern Wisconsin, the state’s Department of Natural Resources issued it a notice of violation on Oct. 13, alleging multiple environmental violations related to the ongoing line rerouting construction. The warning follows an August spill that released more than 1.3 million gallons of propane and butane vapors into the atmosphere near Saxon, Wisconsin.
The alleged violations include violations of permit conditions for the Line 5 Redirection Project and violations of state environmental law related to the unauthorized construction of a bypass around the spill site in Iron and Ashland Counties.
The department says the alleged violations, which occurred between March 30 and Sept. 21, include violations of permit conditions and state laws governing water quality, wetlands, waterways, air quality, stormwater and endangered resources. The notice also alleges the company built an unauthorized bypass around the spill site after the August accident.
The agency, which has scheduled an enforcement conference with Enbridge to discuss the allegations, says it could issue subpoenas or refer the case to the Wisconsin Department of Justice, which could seek financial penalties and other court-ordered remedies.
The department says it continues to review the alleged incidents that occurred after Sept. 21 and may take additional enforcement action. Spokeswoman Molly Meister said in an email that the agency is monitoring the release of surface groundwater that surfaced in late September under the Marengo River during the installation of a section of new pipe through a recently completed borehole.
It is not yet known if the groundwater release, also in Ashland County, was caused by an aquifer violation by Enbridge. He said pipe-laying operations at the release site have been completed and measures have been put in place to contain the flow of groundwater.
In the Aug. 25 accident that caused the natural gas spill, an unoccupied parked, third-party-owned semi truck carrying delivery equipment rolled into an excavation site on the east side of the pipeline, hitting a bypass valve that Enbridge was adding to connect the existing pipeline to a line under construction.
Enbridge spokesman Juli Kellner said the company has received the notice and is reviewing it. He added that the company has “worked closely with the [state natural resources department] through the [Line 5 reroute project] permitting and construction process … as well as with the response to the line strike incident.”
Enbridge is building a 41-mile pipeline to bypass tribal lands while continuing to operate a disputed 12-mile pipeline segment on reservation land owned by the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. This segment is the subject of legal proceedings seeking its removal. Line 5 is part of a pipeline network that transports oil and gas from Canada to the US
The existing pipeline was shut down for about 10 days in August and early September as Enbridge built a bypass around the damaged section.
A fire was reported around 5:20 a.m. Oct. 13 at the pipeline construction site in White River, Wis., also in Ashland County. It was a trailer of equipment and two boring machines. No one was injured, and the cause and origin are under investigation, according to the Ashland County Sheriff’s Office.
The fire is the third involving Enbridge facilities in recent weeks. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is leading an investigation into two allegedly suspicious fires that occurred in mid-September: one involving an equipment trailer and two drilling rigs at a different drilling site in Ashland County and another at a company office in Superior, Wisconsin.
Kellner said graffiti was found at the site of the third fire, but did not identify what it said or represented, condemning the fires as “neither legal nor peaceful.”
He said: “The illegal and unsafe acts of criminal vandals put themselves, the local community, first responders and our workers at risk. We take these incidents very seriously and will seek to prosecute those involved to the fullest extent of the law.”
