August 28, 2026.
SAXON, Wis. — Wisconsin regulators are calling on Enbridge to halt construction of its Line 5 reroute after a natural gas liquids leak Tuesday near Saxon, adding another setback to a project that has been strongly opposed by the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.
The August 25 incident occurred near Sitan Road in Iron County when a parked, unoccupied semi-truck rolled into an open excavation associated with an Enbridge Line 5 valve project and struck a pipeline, releasing natural gas liquids.
Nearby homes were evacuated as a precaution. Sitan Road was closed, power was temporarily shut off in the area and emergency crews established a temporary no-fly zone. No injuries were reported.
Enbridge isolated the affected section and shut down the pipeline. The amount of material released remained under investigation.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has now asked Enbridge to halt work on the Line 5 reroute until the incident is resolved and the company demonstrates that measures are in place to prevent additional incidents.
DNR Secretary Karen Hyun said the agency is “deeply concerned” about the spill and “immensely frustrated” by other recent compliance-related incidents involving Enbridge. The agency has asked the company more than 20 questions about the release, including the amount of propane and butane vapors released, air-monitoring results, groundwater conditions and the company's plans to control the release.
Gov. Tony Evers also called for answers from Enbridge.
“The people of Wisconsin expect Enbridge to be transparent and accountable, and so do we,” Evers said. “We’re exceedingly concerned about the recent events involving Enbridge, and it’s important that we receive answers expeditiously to our questions so we can ensure this situation is being taken seriously.”
Bad River Band monitoring the situation.
The spill occurred approximately five miles east of the reservation of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.
Bad River Band Chairwoman Elizabeth Arbuckle said the Tribe's fire and first responder services were among those remaining on standby during the incident.
“Based on current conditions and evaluations, the natural gas released is not moving towards the reservation; we will continue to monitor and reevaluate if conditions change,” Arbuckle said in a statement to community members.
The Tribe's involvement in the response underscores the proximity of the Line 5 system and its proposed reroute to the Bad River community and watershed.
The Band has opposed Line 5 for years, arguing that a spill could threaten water resources, wild rice beds, fisheries and other resources important to the Tribe's way of life.
In a separate legal challenge to the reroute, Arbuckle previously said the Band's concerns extend beyond the reservation's boundaries.
“For generations, the Bad River — Mashkiiziibii — and the waters that flow into Lake Superior have nurtured our healthy walleye, sustained our wild rice beds, and kept our community vibrant and strong,” Arbuckle said after a Wisconsin administrative law judge upheld a key permit for the project.
“The Bad River watershed is not an oil pipeline corridor that exists to serve Enbridge’s profits. It is our homeland.”
Arbuckle has also warned that construction could disturb mercury deposits and other contaminants in wetlands near the reservation.
“We have to protect our homeland. We have to protect Lake Superior. We have to protect our treaty rights,” Arbuckle said in an interview with PBS Wisconsin earlier this year. She added that waterways affected by the project ultimately lead to Lake Superior.
Another incident during Line 5 construction.
The gas leak follows several other problems reported during construction of the approximately 41-mile reroute.
In June, Enbridge reported a drilling-fluid release near Vaughn Creek in Iron County. Between approximately 1,600 and 1,900 gallons of bentonite drilling slurry were released into a forested wetland, according to state and company estimates. A portion of the material reached Vaughn Creek.
Such unintended releases are commonly referred to as “frac-outs” and can occur when drilling fluid escapes from an underground drilling path.
The incidents have increased concerns among opponents who argue that construction activities themselves demonstrate the risks associated with placing a major petroleum pipeline through the Lake Superior watershed.
Line 5 reroute remains under legal challenge.
The proposed reroute is intended to move approximately 41 miles of Line 5 around the Bad River reservation. The new route runs through Ashland and Iron counties and would cross more than 180 waterways and affect approximately 101 acres of wetlands, according to state documents and previous reporting.
The project is being constructed after years of litigation between Enbridge and the Bad River Band.
A federal appeals court ruled in July that Enbridge has been trespassing on tribal land after easements for portions of the existing pipeline expired. The court upheld the trespass finding while sending questions concerning damages and the timing of removal back to the lower court.
Enbridge has maintained that the reroute is the long-term solution to the dispute and that Line 5 is important to energy supplies throughout the Midwest.
The company says the pipeline has operated through northern Wisconsin since 1953 and transports crude oil and natural gas liquids to refineries and other facilities in the United States and Canada.
Opponents, including the Bad River Band and environmental organizations, argue that moving the pipeline around the reservation does not eliminate the environmental risks and instead places additional wetlands, waterways and treaty-protected resources at risk.
DNR demands answers.
The latest incident has placed renewed scrutiny on Enbridge's construction practices.
The DNR is seeking additional information about air monitoring, the extent of the vapor plume, groundwater conditions, the evacuation area and communications with Wisconsin Tribal Nations and the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission.
The agency is also working with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services to assess potential public-health impacts.
Initial air monitoring by the Ashland Fire Department's hazardous-materials team found no hazardous or flammable gas levels within a one-mile radius, according to the DNR. Monitoring remains ongoing.
For the Bad River Band and communities throughout northern Wisconsin, the incident has become another chapter in a much larger debate over the future of Line 5 — and over how much risk should be accepted in a region whose rivers, wetlands, groundwater, wild rice beds and connection to Lake Superior are considered essential resources.
The DNR's request to halt construction now puts the next phase of the Line 5 reroute on hold while state officials seek answers from Enbridge.
