Wisconsin unions, businesses rally support for Line 5 relocation project

Construction businesses and unions on Wednesday visited Pewaukee and Brownsville to show support for Canadian energy firm Enbridge‘s 42-mile Line 5 pipeline replacement around a northern tribal reservation in Ashland.

In June, a federal judge ordered Enbridge to shut down its existing pipeline within three years and pay the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians more than $5 million in profits. The company proposed to relocate a 12-mile section of pipeline inside the Bad River Reservation to create a 42-mile replacement that will go around tribal land instead.

Labor leaders, business leaders and tribal members embarked on a three-day tour this week and attended events organized by the Wisconsin Jobs & Energy Coalition (WEC). The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is reviewing permits Enbridge applied for in February 2020, according to WEC officials. The pipeline carries crude oil and natural gas liquids which is later turned into propane.

The pipeline project will support around 1,000 jobs in the state and introduce millions into the local economy, Pat Michels, president and CEO of Michels Corp., said in a news release.

“Michels is a proud Wisconsin company, and we can assure everyone that safety and environmental stewardship will guide every step we take as we build the Line 5 relocation project. The Line 5 project will not only support 1,000 jobs in Wisconsin, but it will inject millions into the state’s economy, all while ensuring the energy our region needs to flow,” Michels added.

Terry McGowan, president and business manager for the Operating Engineers Local 139, said local union workers will be trained to safely complete the project with the least environmental impact.

“The Line 5 relocation project will be completed safely and with the least environmental impact possible because our union workers not only receive the best training in the world, but they call Wisconsin home. It’s time for the Line 5 project to move forward,” McGowan added.

Corey Gall, president of the Wisconsin Pipe Trades Association, agreed with McGowan about the skilled labor available and said a workforce has been waiting to work on the Line 5 relocation.

“Our state’s union men and women have been waiting patiently to begin work on the Line 5 relocation project. These highly skilled union welders have spent years in the classroom and in the field receiving rigorous training to ensure the Line 5 project is completed safely and to the highest standards possible,” Gall added.

Additional speakers included tribal members, elected officials from Waukesha County, representatives of the Wisconsin Propane Gas Association and the Wisconsin Paper Council. The WEC also brought a 34-foot pipeline as an example of the type of pipe to be used in the relocation project, which stakeholders took turns signing.

WEC focused on four key facts for the pipeline, gathered from different sources:

• Pipelines have a 99.99% safety record;
• shutting down pipelines would raise gas and diesel prices in the region;
• Line 5 is a major supplier of propane in the Midwest; and
• the pipeline provides good paying jobs and boosts local economies.

According to the WEC, a Line 5 relocation project would add $135 million to the state economy, increase state tax revenues and support more than 1,000 jobs in Wisconsin.

In April, Enbridge signed a letter of intent with Michels Pipeline Inc. as the general contractor of the project. The company also signed a project labor agreement with the Laborers International Union of North America, the International Union of Operating Engineers, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters.

The Safest Way Tour will make stops in Madison and Baraboo, officials said. This is the tour’s second year and the Safest Way Tour has made more than 20 stops. More than 1,700 people participated in the tour, officials added.