Chairman Robert Blanchard, thanks very much.
>> Thank you very much for having me.
>> Next week, Enbridge and the DNR will present their
cases in the fourth public hearing on the proposed
reroute of line five. Jennifer Smith is the
director of US tribal engagement for Enbridge.
She joins us now. And thanks very much for being
here. >> Thanks for having me.
>> So, as you know, the legal fight over line five,
as it's known, has been ongoing for years. Why is
it worth it to your company to persist?
>> Sure. So the project that we've proposed is
related to our line five pipeline. Line five is
critical for supplying the energy that our Midwest,
Great Lakes regions all rely on. Millions of us
every day are using the end products that line five is
transporting to ten different refineries. It's
providing natural gas liquids to other companies
that will extract the propane and deliver it to
the homes throughout the region. And so we have a
responsibility to make sure that we can continue to
safely deliver that energy that we're all relying on.
And the project we propose this project almost five
years ago, over four years, and initiated the project
permits, because this is in response to the Band River
Band request that we remove line five from the
reservation, which it currently crosses.
>> So your company has an indigenous reconciliation
action plan that includes acknowledging and
historical lack of inclusion of indigenous
people and their well being. Additionally, the Enbridge
CEO states, we have learned that what we do today
impacts the next seven generations, and we have a
responsibility, he says, to preserve and care for the
land. Learn from her original inhabitants,
inhabitants and move forward together in the
spirit of healing, reconciliation and
responsibilities seriously. So how does that statement
square with the pitched legal fight with the Bad
River over line five. >> In specific to the
Indigenous Reconciliation Action Plan? Our first plan
was issued in 2022 that we call it the Irap identified
22 tangible commitments and actions that we can take as
a company to try and work with tribal communities.
And since that time, you know, there have been a
number of successes to that in terms of, you know,
making sure that our tribal contractors, tribal
community members are able to work with Enbridge and
economically participate in what is it that we do? I
will point out that, you know, it was the band that
sued Enbridge back in 2019 regarding line five
crossing the reservation. And so even with, you know,
we are full steam ahead on this project, we fully
expect to see the permits get reaffirmed. But at the
same time, we we want to work with the Band River
Band and tribal community to we'd rather work
together. >> How do you respond to
the concerns from those challenging the permit that
a pipeline spill could impact the tribal
communities very way of life? That depends on clean
water and wetlands for food sources?
>> First of all, I'll say we all depend on clean
water as humans, and so we all have a vested interest
in safety and environmental protection. You know, we
are operating these pipelines. There are
hundreds of thousands of miles of pipelines across
the US that operate every day quietly, safely. We
don't hear about them. And and so, you know, Enbridge
for one, has invested billions of dollars over
the years into the integrity of our systems.
We are monitoring these pipelines 365 days a year,
24 hours a day, seven days a week. We are continuously
running tools and doing checks to make sure that we
know the integrity of our pipeline. We know that it's
safe. >> So what happens if this
reroute is rejected? >> The DNR did an
environmental impact statement, which was done
over four plus years, and it concluded that those
impacts will be minimal, temporary and localized,
just like with most, if not any, you know, all
construction projects. And so we fully believe that
when we get through the contested case process, the
permits will be affirmed and we'll be able to start
construction, and we're ready to do that as soon as
we get all the approvals we get all the approvals