Rally with 700 hard hats to represent the jobs the Line 5 relocation will create held at labor union training center in advance of Wednesday’s contested case hearing in Madison.
MADISON, Wis – Leaders from Wisconsin’s small business, farming and labor organizations held a rally in Madison on Tuesday in advance of Wednesday’s resumption of the contested case hearing on the Enbridge Line 5 relocation project. At a union training facility in Madison, the groups called for the project to move forward “without any more delays.” The rally included a display of 700 hard hats to represent the 700 union construction jobs the project will create.
The rally comes in response to opponents of the Line 5 relocation project contesting the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ issuing of permits for the project. The contested case hearing is scheduled to continue through the month of September. It began on August 12 in Ashland with a public comment session where Line 5 supporters outnumbered opponents by a 3-to-1 margin.
“After more than a four-year scientific review, the Wisconsin DNR rightfully concluded the Line 5 relocation could be done safely and in a manner that protected Wisconsin’s Northwoods,” said Terry McGowan, President and Business Manager of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 139. “It’s time for the out-of-state lawyers opposing this project to step aside, trust the experts at the DNR, and allow the 700 union men and women that will build the relocation to get to work.”
The challenge to the DNR permits comes even though the DNR spent more than four years compiling and analyzing data, held multiple public hearings and comment periods, and relied on the most state-of-the-art modeling available to make their decision. A nearly 900-page DNR environmental impact statement scientifically and legally justified the issuance of project permits. The DNR also included 231 permit conditions to require the strongest environmental standards possible.
“As a Bad River Tribal Member, lifelong Ashland resident, and small business owner, I’m frustrated to see these continued delays occur even after the diligent and transparent environmental review conducted by the Wisconsin DNR,” said Pat Nemec, Bad River Tribal Member and owner of LK1 Services out of Ashland. “Despite what opponents of the project may have you believe, there is strong support for the Line 5 relocation amongst not only Ashland area residents and business owners, but also from many Bad River Tribal members.”
Line 5 is unique because it not only moves crude oil that is refined into transportation fuels, but it also transports natural gas liquids that are made into propane. In fact, a public comment submitted to the DNR by major propane supplier Plains Midstream sent a critical warning that a rejection of the Line 5 relocation project would likely send Wisconsin into a propane state of emergency, leading to supply shortages and massive price increases.
Nate Zimdars, Director of Local Government for the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation, added, “Wisconsin’s farmers and rural residents rely on the propane made possible by Line 5 to heat their homes, dry crops and produce the food our state and nation needs to survive. A major propane supplier has already warned that, without Line 5, our state would see massive propane price hikes and supply shortages, causing a situation that would not only make it hard for rural residents to survive our cold winters, but also drive up the cost of farming and in turn the cost of food.”
“Our state’s economy depends on a reliable and affordable supply of energy like that is made possible by Line 5,” said Brian Dake, president of Wisconsin Independent Business. “Reducing that energy supply will drive up the costs of everything from manufacturing, to transporting goods, to heating offices and production facilities, and, in the end, the cost of goods to consumers.”
During the Wisconsin DNR’s permitting process, over two dozen of Wisconsin’s leading organizations representing farmers, small businesses, labor unions and papermakers submitted comments in favor of the relocation project. Those groups included the Wisconsin Corn Growers Association, Wisconsin Propane Gas Association, Wisconsin Building Trades Council, Wisconsin Counties Association, Wisconsin Electric Cooperative Association, Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation, Wisconsin Independent Businesses, Wisconsin Industrial Energy Group, Wisconsin Laborers’ District Council, Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, Wisconsin Paper Council, Wisconsin Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Store Association, Wisconsin Pipe Trades, Wisconsin Restaurant Association, Wisconsin Soybean Association, Cooperative Network, Dairy Business Association, Great Lakes Timber Professionals Association, Building Trades Council of South Central Wisconsin, Construction Business Group, International Union of Operating Engineers Local 139, Midwest Food Products Association, North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters, Northern Wisconsin Building and Construction Trades Council and Teamsters Local 346. In fact, an analysis of public records found that Wisconsinites supported the Line 5 relocation project by a 2-to-1 margin during the DNR comment period in 2022.
