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Monday, Nov. 28, 2022

Did Enbridge Energy wait a year before reporting a pipeline leak in Wisconsin?

Jacob Alabab-Moser, Wisconsin Watch
yes

The Canadian oil company Enbridge Energy reported to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources a leak of Line 13 — a pipeline of chemicals used to dilute petroleum— near Fort Atkinson in July 2020. That was more than a year after the company first discovered it.

The department issued a letter of violation to the company for delayed reporting of the 1,200-gallon spill. 

Enbridge officials claimed the delay resulted from a miscalculation regarding the size of the leak, with the initial amount small enough to forgo reporting.

A 2014 Canadian documentary alleged Enbridge had a history of unreported spills in Canada. Michigan officials criticized the company in 2017 for failing to report damage to an underwater pipeline in the area connecting lakes Michigan and Huron. And in 2022, Minnesota officials said the company failed to reveal the volume of drilling fluid used on a pipeline construction project.

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