Federal Court Upholds Trespass Ruling on Enbridge's Line 5 in Wisconsin
A federal appeals court has upheld a ruling that Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline trespasses on Bad River Band land in Wisconsin, ENR reports, though the panel set no new deadline for removal as the company’s $1 billion reroute continues.
Market Impact
The three-judge panel for the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled Aug. 6 that Enbridge must eventually remove its 12-mile pipeline segment from Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa reservation land in northwestern Wisconsin, but said the company should get a “reasonable opportunity” to finish rerouting first. The existing easements expired in 2013, and the tribe sued in July 2019 after the band declined to renew them.
The court also sent the $5.15 million restitution award back to U.S. District Court Judge William Conley for reconsideration, saying the lower court “likely double-counted” damages. Enbridge is currently building a $1 billion, 41-mile reroute around the reservation, a project already underway, while continuing to operate the disputed segment. That segment moves more than 20 million gallons of crude oil and natural gas liquids daily from Superior, Wisconsin, to Sarnia, Ontario. Earthjustice attorney Stefanie Tsosie, representing the tribe, said “each day, Enbridge operates Line 5 in illegal trespass and makes more than a million dollars in profit.” Enbridge spokesperson Juli Kellner said the company views the relocation project as “the practical long-term solution to this dispute.”
What It Means for Subcontractors
- Civil, pipeline, and HDD crews staged on the 41-mile reroute should confirm current contract terms with Enbridge, since the appeals court’s silence on a new deadline means schedule and payment terms tied to project completion remain unsettled.
- Firms holding subcontracts on the existing 12-mile reservation segment face elevated legal exposure; the court’s trespass finding could trigger a future shutdown order requiring rapid demobilization with little notice.
- Track Judge Conley’s district court on remand for the revised restitution figure, since a higher damages award could affect Enbridge’s near-term capital allocation to the reroute project and downstream subcontractor payment schedules.
- Environmental and permitting subcontractors working the 41-mile bypass in Ashland and Iron counties should monitor for any tribal or Earthjustice-driven injunctions, given Earthjustice spokesperson Timna Axel’s statement that the group wants Enbridge to “remove its pipeline from the Bad River Reservation in the near future.”
- Companies bidding on remaining reroute packages should factor in reputational and cross-border risk the court flagged, including potential friction with Canada under the 1977 Transit Treaty, which could influence project financing and timelines.
