TL/DR –
The Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of the Chippewa are in a legal tussle with Canadian pipeline giant, Enbridge, over a crusty old pipeline that’s overstayed its welcome. The US Department of Justice has called out Enbridge for its shady trespassing on tribal land, and, while the initial restitution of $5.1M to the tribe seems like a lot, it’s really just loose change from Enbridge’s billion-dollar couch cushions. The situation is a legislative hurricane with treaties between the US, the tribe, and Canada seemingly contradicting each other.
US Department of Justice weighs in on tribal pipeline dispute
In a recent federal court case, the US Department of Justice offered mixed news to the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa in their battle against Canadian pipeline company, Enbridge. The tribe is aiming to have an old petroleum pipeline removed from its reservation.
The Department of Justice confirmed the previous court ruling that Enbridge is “consciously trespassing on tribal land”, operating their Line 5 pipeline on the Bad River reservation even 11 years after the easement through the reservation expired. They also criticized the U.S. District Court for only awarding the tribe a “paltry amount” in compensation, allowing Enbridge to profit substantially from its trespass.
The Department proposed that the court should reconsider the case, including the possibility of providing additional funds for the tribe. However, they did not suggest a specific amount.
The fate of the 71-year-old pipeline on the reservation, however, is a complex issue due to two conflicting U.S. treaties — one with the tribe and the other with Canada. The 1854 treaty with the Bad River Band gives the tribe the power to “exclude or place conditions on Enbridge’s continued presence on tribal lands,” while the U.S.-Canada Pipeline Transit Treaty of 1977 ensures the uninterrupted transmission of hydrocarbons between the two countries.
Judge William Conley ruled that Enbridge had three years to either reroute the pipeline or prepare for its shutdown. Enbridge is working to find a reroute through wetlands bordering the reservation’s boundary, a process which may take more than three years and has no guarantee of success. If Enbridge is forced to shut down its pipeline before an alternate route can be arranged, the U.S. risks breaching a treaty with Canada, one of its top trading partners, and may face “substantial monetary damages.”
Enbridge insists that an immediate shutdown would negatively impact millions of people who rely on Line 5 for energy in both the U.S. and Canada, and is working to find a solution that acknowledges the Band’s sovereignty while continuing the delivery of vital energy. They do not intend to operate on the Bad River Reservation for any longer than it takes to relocate Line 5.
In the ongoing case, Line 5, a pipeline running 645 miles from Superior, Wisconsin, to Sarnia, Ontario, carries up to 540,000 barrels per day of crude oil and natural gas. The Bad River Band launched its lawsuit against Enbridge in 2019 after a severe flood caused erosion which threatened the pipeline.
The fight against Enbridge is gaining media attention. Bad River, a documentary about the tribe and the pipeline, was released in theaters across the U.S. last month and will be available for streaming on Monday, April 22—Earth Day—on Comcast’s Black Experience on Xfinity.
The Department of Justice emphasized that while a court order allowing Enbridge to trespass perpetually would not be justifiable, the remedy for this trespass is not straightforward. The tribe and its legal counsel remain hopeful that the Seventh Circuit will order an end to Enbridge’s illegal activity.
Original Story at insideclimatenews.org
