Enbridge ‘must cease’ Line 5 operations on Bad River Band territory by June 2026: judge

The Line 5 pipeline can keep moving fossil fuels through an Indigenous band's territory in Wisconsin for now, but operations on that property "must cease'' in 2026, a judge says.

The controversial Line 5 pipeline can keep moving fossil fuels through an Indigenous band’s territory in Wisconsin for now, but operations on that property “must cease” on June 16, 2026, a U.S. judge says.

Calgary-based Enbridge Energy Inc., the pipeline’s owner, had asked Wisconsin district court Judge William Conley to clarify his order earlier this month giving the company just three years to relocate that section of the pipeline.

Enbridge plans to build a 66-kilometre detour around the sovereign territory of the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa to replace the contested 19-kilometre stretch that runs directly through it.

And court documents filed on Friday suggest the energy transmission giant had been hoping for assurances that Line 5 would not be shut down entirely in the event that the detour isn’t completed in time.

The answer they got Monday was unequivocal.

“Enbridge seeks confirmation that it can continue to operate Line 5 in the normal course of business for three years from the date of judgment on the parcels for which it lacks a valid right of way,” Conley wrote.

“Enbridge’s understanding is generally accurate,” he continued, provided the parcels in question were part of the lawsuit and that the company abides by the order to share the profits with the band.

“However, as just noted, operation of Line 5 on those parcels must cease on June 16, 2026.”