By Danielle Kaeding, Wisconsin Public Radio
This article was republished here with permission from Wisconsin Public Radio.
The Wisconsin Department of Justice announced a $275,000 settlement Thursday with energy firm Enbridge in a 2019 spill in Jefferson County.
The state alleged Enbridge violated the spills law by failing to report a release from a faulty valve that occurred on its Line 13 pipeline in Fort Atkinson on April 26, 2019. The company didn’t report the spill to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources until July 31, 2020 — more than a year later.
State law requires immediately reporting a hazardous substance spill by calling the DNR’s 24-hour hotline.
WPR previously reported that up to 1,386 gallons of diluent liquids leaked from the pipeline, contaminating groundwater and soil in the area. The DOJ said the petroleum substance is an extremely flammable mixture used to thin out heavy crude oil carried through its pipelines.
“Wisconsin’s Spills Law is a critical protection for our environment,” Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul said in a statement. “Those who are responsible for the discharge of a hazardous substance must comply with its requirements.”
In a statement, Enbridge spokesperson Juli Kellner said the company is pleased to reach an agreement with the DNR and the Department of Justice. She said the leak was discovered and repaired in the spring of 2019.
“Ongoing monitoring continues to confirm product released remains confined to Enbridge-owned property. Regular sampling has found no impact to nearby drinking water wells,” Kellner said. “Enbridge is committed to ongoing restoration of this site. We will work with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources as monitoring continues.”
The settlement requires Enbridge to pay $275,000 in fines and other fees, and an order was signed Monday by Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge William V. Gruber.
The release is not the company’s only spill in Jefferson County. In 2024, a valve leak caused by a degraded gasket at a pump station for Enbridge’s Line 6 pipeline spilled 1,650 barrels or roughly 69,000 gallons of oil. Enbridge cited the more than 50-year-old valve as a contributing factor in the spill to federal regulators.
The settlement comes as Enbridge is rerouting its Line 5 pipeline in northern Wisconsin around the Bad River Tribe’s reservation. Opponents of the project have cited the company’s track record of spills in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan.
Enbridge has said it’s spent billions of dollars on improving the safety and integrity of its pipelines.
The company previously violated permits and water quality standards when it built parallel pipelines across 14 counties in 2007 and 2008. In 2008, the Wisconsin Department of Justice reached a $1.1 million settlement for more than 100 environmental violations that caused harm to wetlands and waterways.
