On August 25, an unoccupied third-party truck rolled into Line 5 resulting in a leak near Saxon. The leak released 1.3 million gallons of natural gas liquids, covering the area in white smoke as it evaporated.
Enbridge is still working to clean up the natural gas liquids that remain, monitoring air quality, soil and testing water at the site. The area remains a no fly-zone.
Line 5 has been shutdown since the leak. The company hopes to reopen the pipeline on September 12 by building a bypass
The leak is the largest reported oil and gas pipeline spill in Wisconsin's history, according to a WPR analysis of federal data.
A press briefing was held on Thursday afternoon where Great Lakes advocates, tribal leaders, and pipeline safety experts advocated for the Line 5 expansion project to be shut down.
The push comes a day after Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer called for a tunnel project under the Straits of Mackinac for the same pipeline to be shut down.
"I have never heard of the federal agency withholding a site from state agency or local officials," Beth Wallace said during the press conference. She's the director of climate and energy for the national wildlife federation. "There is usually a unified command that is formed that involves all levels of government officials and agencies responding, and in this case, there appears to be a level of preemption that Enbridge and the federal agency is trying to establish."
On Wednesday, the Wisconsin DNR sent two letters to Enbridge requesting it halt the work being completed on a bypass meant to reopen the pipeline and instead focus on the spill. One letter came from DNR Secretary Hyun, and the other by Integration Services Section Manager, Kyle Mclaughlin.
The letters addressed additional concerns over environmental factors and noncompliance since the last communication sent on August 27.
The letter from McLaughlin stated, "As of the date of this letter, the land disturbances, waterway crossings, and placement of matting in wetlands associated with the bypass do not have authorization to proceed."
It went on to say Enbridge may also need federal, county, or town approval for the work.
"Regarding the Line 5 reroute construction, Enbridge has caused additional discharges to the environment since my earlier letter, which have caused continued frustration and profound unease for the department and the people of Wisconsin," Hyun said in her letter
Conservation group, Clean Wisconsin, recently released a press release calling for transparency surrounding the environmental impacts, and unanswered questions concerning public health and safety.
Their need for transparency also lies in wanting trustworthy officials on site to evaluate the impacts of the leak.
Evan Feinauer is the attorney for Clean Wisconsin.
“We're kind of in this position of relying on Enbridge's monitoring what they say they're monitoring, what they say they're seeing," said Feinauer. "I think what the people of Wiconsin and the public should want and should be demanding is that as soon as possible, our state environmental regulators are out there assessing the situation and being completely transparent about what they're seeing.”
WXPR asked Enbridge these questions:
- What is the water being tested for?
- How long can we expect this testing to be done?
- Who is conducting the water testing?
- How large of an area is the water testing being conducted?
This is how Enbridge spokesperson, Juli Klenner, responded:
"Samples from surface water, groundwater, and a nearby residential well have been tested for volatile and semi volatile organic compounds and show no impacts. Testing will continue as we complete a thorough investigation. Water samples are being collected by an environmental consultant and are being analyzed. Water samples will continue to be collected outside of the exclusion zone but will focus near the release site as part of our ongoing investigation."
Dan Moncher is a resident of the area. The day of the leak, he was using generators from his food truck to help supply power to his and his neighbors homes after power was cut in the area as a safety measure. Enbridge had asked to use his property to gain access to other areas that need to be tested.
“They're just monitoring the water around our place. Now, I live by the harbor. So I don't know, just checking water and whatever they're doing,” said Moncher the day after the leak.
At that time, Enbridge did not notify Moncher what they were testing for, but he did note the presence of multiple agencies responding to the incident.
In order to help clean the area, compressed air has been used to encourage vaporization and dissipation of the product from the construction trench.
As of it's update posted Sept. 9, Enbridge says it's still on tracking building the bypass and reopening the line Sept. 12.
Maria Peralta-Arellano is a Report for America corps member, covering water quality and the environment for WXPR in northern Wisconsin and the U.P. Report for America places talented journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and regions.
