U.S. District Judge William Conley issued the order on Friday in
Madison. The judge's action came just over a month after the Bad
River Band told him an immediate shutdown was needed following
heavy spring rains that eroded a riverbank protecting the pipe.
The pipeline carries 540,000 barrels of oil per day from Canada
through the Great Lakes region.
An Enbridge spokesperson said on Saturday the company plans to
appeal the judge's order.
In the ruling, Conley said a sudden shutdown could lead to oil
shortages and price hikes in the United States, adding that
"given the environmental risks, the court will order Enbridge to
adopt a more conservative shutdown and purge plan."
Enbridge said in court filings ahead of the judge's action that
a hasty shutdown of the pipeline was unnecessary and would cause
"extreme market turmoil." The company has proposed re-routing
the pipeline around the tribal reservation, but has not received
federal approvals to do so.
Representatives for the tribe did not immediately respond to a
request for comment.
The tribe has said a breach in the pipeline along the 12-mile
(19 km) segment that runs through the reservation could pollute
important fishing waters, wild rice habitat and potentially
underground aquifers.
The tribe sued Enbridge in 2019, arguing that riverbank erosion
threatened a "looming disaster" that warranted removal of the
pipeline and saying that the company no longer had a legal right
to operate on the property after pipeline easements allowing it
to use the land expired in 2013.
Conley ruled last year that the pipeline was trespassing on the
land but stopped short of ordering a shutdown due to public and
foreign policy concerns. The judge in November said significant
erosion that could cause a rupture was unlikely, but told the
parties to develop a shutdown plan anyway.
(Reporting by Clark Mindock in New York; Editing by Will Dunham)
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