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Lawsuit is filed against pipeline
By MIKE SIMONSONWisconsin Public Radio
Spooner Advocate
Last Updated: Wednesday, December 27th, 2006 10:07:29 AM
MADISON-- A lawsuit charging that the Department of Natural Resources
is not doing enough to protect Wisconsin rivers and wetlands was filed
Thursday, Dec. 21, in Dane County Circuit Court.
The suit said the DNR needs to take a closer look at a proposed crude
oil pipeline that would run from Superior across the Wisconsin, Fox,
Black, Namekagon, and other rivers on its way to Chicago.
In Washburn County, two new Enbridge pipelines are scheduled to be
placed in an existing easement where one Enbridge pipeline exists,
across the northeast corner of the county in Frog Creek, Stinnett, and
Bass Lake townships.
Wisconsin Wetlands Director Becky Abel said the proposed Enbridge
Energy pipeline would have an enormous impact on the 242 rivers and
streams it will cross on its 321 miles to Illinois. She said the fact
that something like this can go through without a finding of
significant impact is really disturbing and the department charged with
protecting natural resources could deem something like this not
significant. Abel said 1,200 acres of wetlands will be crossed as well.
Lori Grant with the Rivers Alliance is worried about the long-term
impact of pipelines stretched across waterways, so the alliance wants
an Environmental Impact Statement done before the pipeline is built.
She said they do not want a disaster to happen in Wisconsin as happened
in Minnesota a few years ago when Enbridge’s pipeline poured 252,000
gallons of crude oil into a marsh.
But Enbridge Energy’s Denise Hamsher said the company has been
operating pipelines since 1950 and it has a good track record. She said
delays to the project now by requiring more study will hurt a secure
energy supply from the Alberta oil sands of Canada.
She said the project is meant to provide increased supplies of crude
oil needed from a friendly neighbor to the north and crude oil for the
refineries that serve Wisconsin for jet fuel, gasoline, and asphalt.
Hamsher said stopping or delaying the Enbridge project could incur the kind of disruptions and price spikes that nobody wants.
The DNR has 20 days to respond to the suit before a hearing is scheduled in Madison.
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