the risk of illness, hospitalization and death
for people who choose to get them.
controversy over the oil and gas pipeline through
northern Wisconsin went before the public this week
during the third of four contested case hearings
across the state. In Ashland, the bad River Band
of Lake Superior Chippewa presented witnesses in
their challenge of the permits the Wisconsin DNR
granted to Canadian Enbridge Energy Inc. for a
41 mile reroute of the pipeline. Operational since
1953. Line five, as it's known, carries 23 million
gallons a day from Superior to Ontario. The tribe had
sued to remove the pipeline from its reservation lands
after easements expired. And in 2020, Enbridge
proposed rerouting part of the line around tribal
lands. Late last year, the DNR granted permits for
pipeline construction that impacts wetlands and
waterways, as well as granting permits to
maintain erosion control and water quality in the
midst of construction. That includes blasting, bedrock
and drilling. The tribe and environmental groups
challenged those permits, resulting in the court
ordered public hearings. Bad River tribal chairman,
Robert Blanchard, was the first to take the stand.
And chairman, thanks very much for being here.
>> Thank you for having me. >> So what did you most
want the judge to know about the impacts of line
five and its reroute around the bad River reservation,
but through nearby wetlands and wetlands, what did you
most want the judge to know about those impacts?
>> So reroute is going within the ceded
territories of of of the the band. And impact is
going to be over 100 acres of wetlands, which, you
know, will get disturbed. 30 some acres of that will
not be usable again through horizontal direct drilling,
blasting, which is going to, you know, a lot of it's
going to impact our our water resources.
>> Now, I know, I know, the tribe wanted the pipeline
removed from your land. Why isn't rerouting it around
the reservation proper enough?
>> Well, I will do is shift the risk upstream, exposing
more of the environment to be put at at at risk than
than what is now. But, you know, like I said before,
we have ceded territories hunting and fishing and
gathering of of medicines and other other stuff. So I
mean that that's just going it's just moving the
problem upstream. You know, we're we'll be downstream
from that. And if something were to happen, you know,
it's really impact us as people and our way of life.
>> Circling back to something you spoke to a
moment ago during your testimony, you spoke about
the wild rice harvest. Why is that? And hunting and
fishing rights you hold. So key to your community?
>> Well, we've been harvesting wild rice on in
the Sokaogon Streu's for over 100 years. You know,
my grandparents brought us harvested down there, and
they they made rice camps down there. And, you know,
so that that's near and dear to my heart and a lot
of other people also. But. It identifies us as, as
people, you know, that that we were brought here for a
reason. And, and one of the reasons is that to go where
the food grows on the water, and that was the wild rice,
and that is quite dear to us. And as far as other
things, hunting, fishing and gathering, you know,
there's a lot of people today that that use that
resource to provide and put food on the table for their
families. So it's very important to us.
>> Why are the waters and the land so important to
the protection of those rights?
>> Well, we also feel that, you know, everything out
there is sacred. You know, we we we we use that that
those resources. And when we go and harvest and we go
hunting or fishing, we take only what we need to do for
our families. So and we also believe that, you know,
that everything out there has a spirit. Every living
thing out there has a spirit, you know? And
that's what we're protecting is the spirit of
that medicine, the spirit of that wild rice and the
spirit of those waters and lands to be able for our
future generations, to be able to enjoy that.
>> For its part, Enbridge states that they have
learned what they do today impacts the next seven
generations. And it has that. It has a
responsibility to care for the land. What's your
response to that statement from the CEO of Enbridge?
>> Well, I don't think Enbridge really understands,
you know, the they look at it a lot different than we
do. You know. They're they're there for for
different reasons. And we're there to to protect
the land, truly protect the land and the resources.
>> Your Band River Band is fighting hard over this.
What will you do if the line five project is
allowed to proceed in this way?
>> Well, that's a that's the big question. We are
still trying to come up with some some answers, and
we're just going to keep moving forward and keep
fighting. >> We will be watching.