Property owners in Wisconsin are banding together to fight back against Enbridge, Inc. and the potential for yet another expansion to their pipeline network running through the state.
According to Mark Borchardt, a landowner in the Marshfield, WI area, Enbridge has been steadily expanding their already expansive pipeline network for decades, and their recent uptick in land survey for expansion activity has him worried that he may need to fight to keep his home.
“My wife and I have lived in and loved our home for 22 years,” he said to the Hub City Times. “Enbridge’s recent land survey for expansion came right up to our house. We don’t want to lose it. We know we can’t beat Enbridge alone, so we are reaching out to other affected Wisconsin citizens to join together so we can all keep our property.”
Borchardt, along with his wife Gwen Stone, have been travelling across Wisconsin to host informational meetings in a variety of locations along the potential expanded pipeline route, including Marshfield, Hayward, and Waterloo.
“We are developing strategies for organizing landowners affected by the pipelines across the state of Wisconsin,” said Borchardt in an interview. “The three meetings last week were to test our messages and gauge landowner interest. Interest among landowners that attended the meetings was overwhelmingly positive. We are moving forward.”
Borchardt and Stone formed both the 80 Feet is Enough advocacy group and the Wisconsin Easement Action Team (WEAT), a nonprofit organization that will allow landowners to band together and protect their property from a possible expansion. WEAT also hired attorney Brian Jorde of the Domina Law Group to assist with their legal needs – Brian previously worked with the Nebraska Easement Action Team in their successful fight against the TransCanada Keystone XL Pipeline.
Borchardt estimates that as many as 3,000 landowners could be affected by Enbridge’s possible expansion. Since the original pipeline was built in 1968, approximately 1,800 landowners have been affected by repeated expansions and construction.
“There is more than a little selfish motivation on our part. We want to save our property. We want to save our home,” he said. “When we bought our house in 1994, we had one pipeline. In 1998 Enbridge put in another pipeline… In 2009 they put in two more pipelines… so four pipelines in 22 years.”
You can find more information on both 80 Feet is Enough and the Wisconsin Easement Action Team through their respective websites. You can also visit our website for more information on the Domina Law Group and our work regarding eminent domain law, or if you’re interested in getting in touch with Brian or another one of our attorneys, give us a call at (888) 387-4134 or fill out the form on our website to begin your case consultation today.
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