Enbridge rebuked over permitless construction

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Despite the ongoing communication between Enbridge and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Gov. Evers and I continue to be deeply concerned and incredibly frustrated by the decisions and actions of Enbridge in Wisconsin … Enbridge has continued to add to the growing list of environmental concerns and violations, demonstrating disregard for the environment, human health, and the statutory authority of the department.”

– DNR Secretary Karen Hyun, writing to oil pipeline company Enbridge about its disregard for state permits after massive spill of natural gas liquids

Environment

After a truck rolled over a valve in Enbridge’s Line 5 oil and gas pipeline in Iron County late last month causing a spill of 1.3 million gallons of natural gas liquids, the company quickly began construction on a bypass of the valve to get the pipeline flowing again. In a letter sent this week, the state Department of Natural Resources said the Canadian company must stop construction because it was doing so without the proper permits. Redman reports on the spill and how it’s turned up the temperature on the controversial project.

A legislative study committee met for the first time this week to begin working on legislation that could encourage the restoration of floodplains across the state. Redman reports on the effort, which could help ease the damage caused by floods as climate change makes them more frequent and more powerful.

A panel of federal judges ruled Friday that the U.S. Department of Energy can’t keep ordering the extension of a Michigan coal power plant’s life after it was initially set to be retired in 2021, Kyle Davidson of the Michigan Advance reports. Because Michigan is served by the same electric grid as Wisconsin, utility regulators are now working to make sure the hundreds of millions of dollars it has cost to keep the plant open won’t be passed on to ratepayers here and across the Midwest.

‘Trump-a-palooza’

Republicans held the first ever midterm election convention in Dallas this week, where in a two hour speech President Donald Trump promised to give American adults a $5,000 check if Republicans retain control of Congress.

Several members of Wisconsin’s congressional delegation made the trip to Texas, but U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden was the only Wisconsin official to speak from the convention stage. In his remarks, Van Orden boasted that he and Trump have delivered millions of dollars for rural Wisconsin healthcare — despite voting for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and its billions in cuts to Medicaid spending, Henry Redman reports.

On Thursday, Vice President J.D. Vance took the convention stage to repeatedly malign Democrats as “crazies” in an appearance that many observers saw as an audition ahead of his predicted 2028 run for president

Amid chatter that he may be considering switching parties, U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania) appeared in a video that was played on the convention stage where he touted work he’s done with Republicans to protect the steel industry, Shauneen Miranda reports.

Civil Rights

Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging state laws that restrict abortion access, arguing they unconstitutionally infringe on Wisconsinites’ right to “liberty and bodily autonomy.” Baylor Spears reports on the lawsuit, which is seeking to end restrictions that state that only physicians can provide abortion care and that patients must wait 24 hours between a consultation appointment with a physician and an abortion appointment with the same physician.

U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Milwaukee) traveled to Kansas this week to tour an immigrant detention facility where two Milwaukee women have been held since early July. The women told Moore that they’ve been treated with humanity but they’re struggling with depression during their months-long detention, Isiah Holmes reports.

Stevens Point, Winnebago County, Fond du Lac County and Sheboygan joined the wave of communities across Wisconsin that have moved away from using Flock license plate readers as residents and officials become increasingly wary of the AI-powered surveillance tool. Holmes reports on the ongoing backlash to Flock.

Childcare

Families across Wisconsin have been struggling with the increasing cost of childcare while providers, faced with the loss of stabilizing pandemic relief funds, have been struggling to keep their doors open. In a commentary, Editor-in-chief Ruth Conniff writes that a Trump administration plan to subsidize stay-at-home parents unfairly pits families against each other in Trump’s culture wars while abandoning vulnerable kids.

PLUS:

Wisconsin Broadcasters Association cancels debate for first time in over 30 years

St. Mary’s nurses file charges against management with NLRB

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