"The federal lawsuit warns that erosion could soon leave Enbridge Line 5 exposed to rushing water in Wisconsin’s Bad River, creating a risk of rupture."

"Driven by fears of rapid erosion that threatens to expose a crude oil pipeline to rushing water, a Native American tribe is suing pipeline giant Enbridge to force it to remove an aging pipeline whose easement through the reservation has expired.

The Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians filed suit in federal court on July 23 demanding that Enbridge cease operation of its Line 5 pipeline on the Bad River reservation and remove the pipe. Line 5 carries crude oil and other fossil fuels from Superior, Wisconsin, to Sarnia, Ontario, and is part of Canada's largest oil-export pipeline network.

The Bad River is rapidly scouring away a section of riverbank where the Line 5 pipeline currently lies buried, the lawsuit says. If exposed, the pipeline could rupture, threatening a pristine watershed and river that flows through the reservation and into Lake Superior."

Phil McKenna reports for InsideClimate News July 25, 2019. [2]