Ensure Line 5 keeps running until reroute completed in 2026, Enbridge asks U.S. judge

In this June 29, 2018, file photo, pipeline used to carry crude oil is shown at the Superior terminal of Enbridge Energy in Superior, Wisc. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Jim Mone

WASHINGTON -

Enbridge Inc. wants a U.S. judge to confirm that the controversial Line 5 pipeline won't be shut down before it can be rerouted around Indigenous territory.

The Calgary company is asking Wisconsin district court Judge William Conley to clarify his order that the pipeline be moved within the next three years.

The Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa has been fighting Enbridge in court since 2019, saying the company no longer has permission to operate on its land.

Conley has given the company until June 2026 to finish the planned reroute, but was not explicit about whether Line 5 can keep operating in the meantime.

In its latest court filing, Enbridge asks Conley to make it clear that the pipeline can continue to operate on Bad River territory until the reroute is finished.

Enbridge says it expects the permitting process for the extension to wrap up some time in 2025, and that relocating the section of pipe would take about a year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 26, 2023.