Enbridge offers at least $24M to settle tribe pipeline suit

ASHLAND, Wis. – Enbridge Energy has offered the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa at least $24 million to settle a lawsuit the tribe filed to shut down and remove the Line 5 pipeline from its reservation in northern Wisconsin.

But tribal leaders say their position against the pipeline remains unchanged. Line 5 carries up to 540,000 barrels of oil and natural gas liquids each day from Superior, Wisconsin, to Sarnia, Ontario in Canada.

Wisconsin Public Radio News reports that Enbridge is offering $12 million to settle claims over expired easements on tribal land and $10 million that would follow startup of a new Line 5 route outside the reservation. Calgary, Alberta-based Enbridge would also pay the tribe $2 million annually until the pipeline’s operation is no longer in use on the reservation.

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This story has been corrected to attribute the information to Wisconsin Public Radio News instead of Minnesota Public Radio News.

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Information from: Wisconsin Public Radio, http://www.wpr.org