A new report –prepared for the Great Lakes Business Network by the University of Michigan Law School—Environmental Law & Sustainability Clinic– about federal pipeline oversight by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is very concerning. The study analyzed all Notice of Proposed Safety Orders (NOPSO) since 2010. NOPSOs are used by the administration “to notify an operator that a particular pipeline facility has a condition or conditions that pose a pipeline integrity risk to public safety, property, or the environment.” The findings show an “alarming track record, revealing that the agency is largely reactive rather than proactive in enforcement, requiring pipeline operators to follow regulations only after ruptures, leaks, and failures have already occurred.”
Read Unicorn Riot’s coverage of the April 16th court hearing, and a deeper dive into the impacts of blasting through bedrock. Enbridge still does not know exactly where it plans to blast through bedrock.
Enbridge has begun their Line 5 Segment Relocation project that intersects the NCT in the Mellen / Copper Falls to Gurney area (MM 171.25, MM 185-186.5, and MM 200.5-202.5; map: https://arcg.is/bPuSX2). They have coordinated with the NCTA to minimize impacts to the NCT and NCT hikers.
Enbridge has already cleared trees on the pipeline corridor and expects to start construction activity beginning this May (2026). NCT users can expect heavy construction traffic on Vogues Road, which is also an access road for reaching the NCT. Temporary NCT detours / closures may be possible as blasting will be used near MM 186.25.
The NCT in the Wren Falls area is best accessed via Casey Sag Road (off of Hwy 77) to Sullivan Forest Road to Wren Falls Road (map: https://arcgis.is/1aKzWv0).
The board of Northland College plans to sign an agreement with Enbridge Energy to house 148 temporary pipeline workers on campus to work on the Line 5 reroute project around Bad River. This dangerous deal would make campus and the surrounding neighborhood unsafe.
We often think of man camps as trailers parked out in an oil field: but any time untethered male workers live in-mass, the same problems crop up. Workers dropped into communities they don’t have relationships in find they can act with impunity, and hurt locals in the process.
In 2023, Federal Judge Conley ordered Enbridge to shut down the flow of oil across the meander when there was 5′ between the river bank and Line 5. THAT TIME IS NOW!
Contact the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) and demand they enforce Judge Conley’s order to shut down Line 5 across the Bad River Reservation to protect Lake Superior & our communities.
