As news about the November Enbridge oil spill in Jefferson County drip, drip, dripped, state regulators at the DNR were simultaneously issuing new construction permits for the rerouting of Enbridge’s aging pipeline 5 around the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Reservation.

8 O’Clock Buzz host Tony Castañeda talked Thursday with Milwaukee Journal Sentinal government and environmental reporter Laura Schulte about the most recent Enbridge oil spill in Jefferson County. A faulty leak detection system originally missed the spill, but once discovered, it was reported to the DNR as a “2-gallon” spill. Days later, the estimated spill quantity was amended from two gallons to three barrels, or 126 gallons, then last week, Enbridge again revised that amount – this time from three barrels to 1,650 barrels, or 69,300 gallons.

On November 14, after receiving the go-ahead from the DNR on the line 5 reroute, Enbridge officials issued a statement praising the approval. Bad River Chairman Robert Blanchard had a very different reaction. “I’m angry that the DNR has signed off on a half-baked plan that spells disaster for our homeland and our way of life. We will continue sounding the alarm to prevent yet another Enbridge pipeline from endangering our watershed.”

Photo courtesy of tigerlily713 on Pixabay.

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