The movement to shutdown Line 5 in Wisconsin has been growing since the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa won a federal court case against Enbridge in 2023. That ruling requires Enbridge to decommission the segment of Line 5 that passes through the Bad River Reservation.

Tribal members and many locals in Ashland and Bayfield counties want the pipeline shutdown entirely, in opposition to Enbridge’s proposed reroute that would still be located in the Bad River watershed. According to Elizabeth Ward, the rerouted pipeline would lock us into a fossil fuel future that would only exacerbate the impacts of climate change we’re already experiencing.

On today’s show, host Douglas Haynes asks Ward and two healthcare professionals about the health effects of Line 5. Abby Novinska-Lois and Jan Penn say that pipeline construction and pipeline ruptures are linked to impaired immune systems, negative neurological and reproductive impacts, as well as upticks in human trafficking, especially in Indigenous communities. 

These effects are well documented by communities in Wisconsin, as well as by folks in Minnesota, who have been reeling from the effects of an Enbridge reconstruction project since 2021.

The US Army Corps of Engineers are taking feedback on the proposed Line 5 reroute until August 4.

Abby Novinska-Lois is the Executive Director of Healthy Climate Wisconsin. Abby received her bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science with a certificate in Environmental Studies from the UW- Madison, and has worked to reduce pesticide use in Wisconsin agriculture, among other advocacy projects before helping the Wisconsin Health Professionals for Climate Action become a nonprofit.

Jan Penn began nursing as an Ashland County Public Health Nurse in 1972 and moved into an Advanced Nursing role shortly after. Although she has now retired from her role as a Nurse practitioner after over 50 years of service, Jan carries on as a registered nurse and is an advocate for a healthy and vital community.

Elizabeth Ward is the Wisconsin Chapter Director of the Sierra Club, which works to ensure everyone has access to clean air, clean water, and public lands. Elizabeth works with hundreds of volunteers and leaders across the state. 

Various Tribal, environmental, and youth organizations gathered in Ashland, Wisconsin on June 4 to tell the US Army Corps of Engineers to deny Enbridge’s pipeline permit. Image courtesy of Devon Young Coupery.

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