Enbridge Inc. plans to appeal a court order to shut down its Line 5 oil pipeline on the Bad River Reservation within three years, the company said in an email.
A U.S. District Court in Wisconsin on Friday ordered the company to stop operating the oil pipeline running from Superior, Wisconsin, to Sarnia, Ontario, within three years and pay the band $5.15 million. Enbridge already planned to move the line off the reservation, but said it disagreed with aspects of the court’s decision, including that the company is trespassing and that Line 5 must cease operations.
“Enbridge is weighing all its options, including requesting a stay of the judge’s decision while an appeal is heard,” Gina Sutherland, an Enbridge spokeswoman, said in an email. The three-year time line is arbitrary, but is “achievable, provided government permitting agencies follow reasonable and timely processes.”
