The contested case hearing over state permits issued to Enbridge Energy for its Line 5 reroute project have begun, and both sides in the case already have staked out positions at opposite ends of the spectrum.

During opening statements Aug. 12, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources attorney Michael Kowalkowski said the review process for the Line 5 reroute might be the most comprehensive in the history of the agency, adding that the environmental impact statement was about 900 pages long.

On the other side, EarthJustice attorney Stefanie Tsosie noted its the beginning of wild rice season − one of the many things at stake for the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. If something happens to the water, land or the sloughs that hold the wild rice beds , the tribe has nowhere els

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