By Anita Weier
A
plan by a Canadian energy company to build a 321-mile petroleum
pipeline from Superior to Delavan is being opposed by environmental
groups, but the DNR says that no environmental impact statement is
needed.
One major reason is that the new construction would be along an existing route where two crude oil pipelines already operate.
The
Enbridge Energy Co. wants to build a 42-inch-diameter pipeline from
Superior to Delavan, in southeastern Wisconsin, that would add 124,000
barrels of crude oil capacity per day, said Shaun Kavajecz,
environmental project manager for the company. A second stage would
eventually stretch lines to Illinois and add more capacity, but that is
not part of this permit decision. The current project also would
include a 20-inch line that would send lighter, highly refined
petroleum north to dilute heavy Canadian crude oil.
Permits for
the new project will likely be issued this week, DNR officials said,
because of requirements of the Job Creation Act, which streamlined
processes.
The Department of Natural
Resources notes that the pipeline corridor easement would remain 80
feet wide, though an additional 100-foot-wide temporary workspace would
be cleared for construction. It would be revegetated according to
agreements between Enbridge and property owners, according to the DNR.
Nevertheless,
the proposed project would require 242 crossings of streams, including
the Namekagon River, a national wild and scenic river. The pipeline
would also cross 243 wetland complexes over a distance of about 67
miles.
Temporary bridges would have to be built in many cases.
Following
public hearings on the matter, Enbridge changed its route in Sawyer
County to avoid using a right-of-way through the Lac Courte Oreilles
Reservation.
"Permit conditions would specify methods of crossing
streams and wetlands that would best minimize adverse impacts and
maintain habitat, hydraulics and other functions," the DNR said in a
written statement.
"The proposed pipeline construction,
monitoring and mitigation activities are not expected to result in
significant adverse environmental effects."
But Brent Denzin, an
attorney for Midwest Environmental Advocates, said that tree clearing
could have a permanent impact and that there would be sedimentation and
erosion along riverbanks.
Construction activities would clear 262 acres of wooded wetland and clear-cut 1,930 acres of upland forest, he said.
"This seems to be on the fast track, and the DNR doesn't explain why the impacts are not significant," Denzin alleged.
He
also argued that Wisconsin is becoming a pathway for electric power
lines and oil pipelines that ultimately benefit other states.
Jeff
Schimpff, project manager for the DNR, said there have been seven
spills along the existing pipeline corridor since 1999, but that six
were at terminals along the line, not at a pipeline. The only one at a
pipeline was a 15-barrel leak at a road crossing in 1999 after it was
dented during work on a road, he said.
"We are still working with
Enbridge to complete a revegetation plan. They have proposed grass
seeds, but we will tell them not to use a few species that are
potentially invasive. On state forest and wildlife areas, they will
replant trees on forested areas. On private lands, it's kind of up to
the private landowner," Schimpff said.
"We always have to plan for some prospect of erosion, if it starts to rain hard. We would require some silt screens and so on."
If
permits are issued this week, the company hopes to start work at the
end of November or early December, he said. Most of the work would
begin in April and completion is expected by the first quarter of 2008.
E-mail: aweier@madison.com
Published: November 21, 2006
