Enbridge Pipeline Leak Releases 70,000 Gallons of Crude Oil in Wisconsin

December 14, 2024 TruthUSA

Line 6 is a 465-mile pipeline that carries crude oil from Superior, Wisconsin, to a terminal near Griffith, Indiana.

Enbridge, the Canadian pipeline giant, has stated that it has successfully remediated approximately 60 percent of a nearly 70,000-gallon oil spill from one of its lines in Wisconsin.

The spill was discovered by an Enbridge employee on November 11 while performing a visual inspection of Line 6 at the Enbridge Cambridge Station, situated west of Milwaukee, as per a federal accident report.

An Enbridge spokesperson, Juli Kellner, informed The Epoch Times via email that the spill—estimated to be around 1,650 barrels, or 70,000 gallons—occurred due to a defective connection on a pump transfer pipe within the Enbridge Cambridge Station.

Kellner confirmed that the faulty connection has since been fixed and that approximately 960 barrels, equating to about 60 percent of the spilled oil volume, have been recovered.

“Investigation and remediation initiated immediately upon discovery and are ongoing,” Kellner noted. “The removal of affected soils continues.”

Enbridge is collaborating with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) as the cleanup and restoration efforts advance, she added.

As indicated on a company map, Line 6 spans 465 miles, transporting crude oil from Superior, Wisconsin to a terminal in Griffith, Indiana.

The spill incident coincided with the approval from the Wisconsin DNR of state permits necessary for Enbridge to advance plans to replace and reroute portions of a separate pipeline—Line 5—through Wisconsin’s Northwoods.

On November 14, the DNR issued a wetland and waterway permit that includes over 200 conditions, as well as stormwater management approvals, permitting Enbridge to proceed with the replacement of a 20-mile section of Line 5, which includes a contentious 12-mile stretch through the Bad River Reservation of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. Enbridge’s proposed reroute for Line 5 aims to avoid tribal lands completely, extending the pipeline to a 41-mile alternative that circumvents the reservation.

The DNR’s permit stipulations aim to minimize environmental effects through rigorous erosion control protocols, water quality safeguards, and adherence to state standards.

The project has been operational since 1953, facing opposition from tribal leaders and environmental advocates who highlight the threats it poses to local water supplies and ecosystems. A coalition of Michigan’s 12 federally recognized tribal nations has appealed to President Joe Biden to assist in their efforts to fully decommission the Line 5 pipeline.

“Most crucial for our purposes, the pipeline (installed in 1953 with a projected lifespan of 50 years) splits into dual lines and crosses beneath the Straits of Mackinac between Lakes Michigan and Huron, where it remains exposed on the bottomlands for over four miles,” the coalition stated in a November 4, 2021, letter to Biden. “On two occasions in the last three years, ship anchors navigating this heavily trafficked waterway have impacted either the pipeline or its supports, and only sheer luck has prevented a rupture.”

The tribal leaders asserted that a rupture in the Line 5 pipeline could yield “catastrophic” consequences, potentially contaminating over 700 miles of the Lake Michigan and Huron shoreline.

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