MADISON, Wis. (CN) - A U.S. District judge stayed his own order to shut down part of a pipeline running through the Bad River reservation in northwest Wisconsin at the urging of both the United States and Canadian governments.

Enbridge's Line 5 pipeline begins on the Lake Superior shore in northwestern Wisconsin, runs across the state, through both of Michigan's peninsulas and beneath the Straits of Mackinac before ending in Ontario.

The 645-mile pipeline carries crude oil and natural gas liquids used throughout the Midwest and parts of Canada. About 12 miles cross land owned by the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians, which has sought its removal.

In June 2023, U.S. District Judge William Conley, a Barack Obama appointee, ordered Enbridge to begin relocating Line 5 off the Band's land, giving the company three years to reroute the pipeline around the reservation and to pay more than $5 million in damages for trespassing.

Both parties appealed to the Seventh Circuit, which heard oral arguments in February 2024 and has yet to issue a decision.

On Friday, Conley, somewhat begrudgingly, granted Enbridge's motion for a stay of the portion of his permanent injunction requiring it to shut down the offending section of the pipeline by June 2026, pending the Seventh Circuit's review of the parties' appeals.

"As this court has repeatedly acknowledged, shutting down an international pipeline based on a potential breach at the meander and Enbridge's trespass on 2.33 miles of a 642-mile pipeline 'has always been about a tail wagging a much larger dog,'" Conley said in a 7-page opinion.

Enbridge sought a stay in January, telling Conley it had made progress on a new route but would not meet the deadline and that a shutdown would drive up local gas prices.

Conley agreed in a Friday opinion that the balance of equities favored staying the shutdown order while the Seventh Circuit weighs in on the case.

He acknowledged there is little legal precedent for weighing the competing factors and questioned whether he had the authority to resolve the issues himself.

The United States and Canada each filed amicus briefs supporting a stay, citing concerns tied to the 1977 Transit Treaty between the two countries.

"Although the court is sympathetic to the Band's objection to continued trespass on its lands, the Band's concerns do not outweigh the near certain harm to local, state, national and international economies that would occur with an abrupt shutdown, nor the harm to the United States' already frayed trade relationship with Canada," Conley said.

The federal government pointed out in its brief that the 2023 injunction did not address how it comported with existing pipeline treaty agreements with Canada, nor the impact of a shutdown on Canadian access to gas and oil.

Conley also considered the improvements to the line made by Enbridge since the 2023 injunction, including more effective shut-off valves and supports, both of which substantially decreased the likelihood of the Line's failure.

While Conley approved Enbridge's efforts, he noted that both parties are to blame for the re-route project's delays.

The Band also appealed the 2023 injunction to disqualify Enbridge's proposed new route for Line 5, which hugs the reservation's border and remains in the watershed.  

Both parties questioned the monetary relief Conley ordered. Enbridge asked the appellate panel to toss the trespassing award while the Band asked for a bigger cut of the pipeline's profits.

Attorney Paul Clement represented the Band before the Seventh Circuit and argued that the pipeline's route through the watershed endangers a fragile river meander. He also argued that Enbridge would find a way to continue operations beyond Conley's 2026 deadline one way or another.

"We're pleased the court agreed that shutting down Line 5 before a decision from the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals would unnecessarily and unfairly harm millions of people in the Midwest and Great Lakes Regions by cutting off or severely disrupting their access to affordable energy," an Enbridge spokesperson told Courthouse News on Monday.

Line 5 serves 10 refineries and propane production facilities, according to a company spokesperson. A shutdown would have meant a shortage of 14 million gallons a day of gas, diesel, and jet fuel in the Midwest, Ontario and Quebec - 45% of the supply.

Counsel for the Band told Courthouse News that a shutdown wouldn't harm consumers.

"The hard evidence establishes that the market will readily adjust to a shutdown of Line 5 without harming consumers. Enbridge's trespass continues to pose significant hardships for the Band, and it is time for the courts to bring thirteen years of trespass to an end."

Source: Courthouse News Service