We’re excited to announce the formation of an important new advocacy group. Created by concerned Michigan landowners, the mission of the non-profit organization POLAR (Protect Our Land And Rights) is to provide assistance to landowners facing condemnation of their property. POLAR seeks to defend such landowners from companies that are seeking to take their land for purposes that may be harmful to the environment. POLAR’s first major undertaking is to defend landowners against Enbridge’s efforts in Michigan to construct an additional pipeline through Michigan to transport Tar Sands from Canada.
POLAR will have a website up very soon. Stay tuned for that link and more details about their important activities.
Hi and thank you for putting together this great site. I am working with Save the Dunes down in Northwest Indiana to advocate for greater transparency about our portion of the new 6b pipeline, and I wanted to reach out to your group (both this blog and POLAR) because I think we have common goals. Down here, we have just begun circulating a petition calling for a public hearing to address concerns over the pipeline: http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/urge-enbridge-and-agencies-to-hold-public-meeting-on-pi1.html So far, this pipeline has been flying under the radar for the most part, and we are hearing from a lot of landowners that they are not sure if they have any options.
We feel that Enbridge is trying to avoid clear scrutiny of its history of environmental harm, and the potential impacts of this new line on our people and environment. We are trying to do our best to elevate this issue and present alternatives. Do you have any suggestions for us in reaching out to the land owners who would be most effected by the new line?
Thanks!
Can you urge residents to get their local officials (and press) interested? It requires some work — township boards may know very little about the project, apart from the broad issues. We find that many people don’t even make the connection between this project and the Marshall spill; they are unaware that this is the line that is responsible for the most expensive oil spill on US soil in history. They don’t know what the NTSB says about Enbridge’s negligence and “culture of deviance”. Tell local officials how the project affects their own property and make connections to the potential public safety issues (increased road traffic, open excavation sites, noise and dust, etc.). Send them the news articles, so they have easy access to information. Ask township officials to — at the very least — look into the consent issue (do they have a say in how Enbridge proceeds with the project?). But most of all, help to paint a more accurate picture for them. If they only hear what Enbridge PR has to say about the project, they don’t get a full picture.
Thanks, Nathan. Your petition is a great start, since, as Katy points out, the dissemination of information is the single most important thing, in my view, that can be done. This is an important public matter and, based on my own experience and observations, Enbridge would prefer that it be a private (even invisible) one– “under the radar,” as you say. But it has also been my experience that the more people know the more they become interested and concerned– that goes for individual landowners, citizens who are not directly affected, local and state elected officials, and the press. Unfortunately, however, all of these groups need to be contacted and informed; the matter needs to be put on their radar. (Dishearteningly, we’ve found that a lot of people are simply willing to believe whatever Enbridge tells them, even though there is ample reason to be skeptical of them). And neighbors need to talk to neighbors.
So please send people to this blog, for one thing, where we will continue to try and provide as much information as we possibly can. Contact local officials (at every level), urge the local press to do stories (we’ve just written letters to individual reporters and pitched stories to them– and followed up), organize informational meetings so that they can learn about the process and how it all works. Again, we are more than happy to share our experience with individual landowners.
And of course, please keep in touch!
Legal Basis for Enbridge to Obtain “Consent” from a local government before beginning Construction
From the Michigan Constitution:
Article 7, § 29 Highways, streets, alleys, public places; control, use by public utilities.
Sec. 29.
No person, partnership, association or corporation, public or private, operating a public utility shall have the right to the use of the highways, streets, alleys or other public places of any county, township, city or village for wires, poles, pipes, tracks, conduits or other utility facilities, without the consent of the duly constituted authority of the county, township, city or village
From the Highway Act:
247.183 Public utilities, cable television companies, and municipalities; construction and maintenance of structures; consent of governing body; construction and maintenance of utility lines and structures longitudinally within limited access highway rights-of-way; standards; charges; use of revenue; use of electronic devices within limited access and rights-of-way to provide travel-related information.
Sec. 13.
(1) Except as otherwise provided under subsection (2), telegraph, telephone, power, and other public utility companies, cable television companies, and municipalities may enter upon, construct, and maintain telegraph, telephone, or power lines, pipe lines, wires, cables, poles, conduits, sewers or similar structures upon, over, across, or under any public road, bridge, street, or public place, including, longitudinally within limited access highway rights-of-way, and across or under any of the waters in this state, with all necessary erections and fixtures for that purpose. A telegraph, telephone, power, and other public utility company, cable television company, and municipality, before any of this work is commenced, shall first obtain the consent of the governing body of the city, village, or township through or along which these lines and poles are to be constructed and maintained.
From the Michigan Public Service Commission’s website:
Wolverine Pipe Line Company’s Spartan Project
In a June 9, 2004 Opinion , the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that Wolverine must obtain the permission of the city of Lansing before constructing a gas pipeline longitudinally in the right-of-way adjacent to an interstate highway where part of the pipeline would be constructed within city limits. The opinion affirmed the Michigan Court of Appeals June 5, 2003 Order that Wolverine must obtain local consent but that such consent need not be obtained before the application is submitted to the Michigan Public Service Commission.
In an June 5, 2003 Order , the Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed the MPSC’s appoval of the Spartan Project and concluded that the MPSC’s determination that the proposed pipeline is reasonably designed and routed is supported by competent, material, and substantial evidence. The order noted that consent of local goverment is required by statute.
see: http://www.dleg.state.mi.us/mpsc/petroleum/u
Here is the legal basis for “Consent” which each Township should be made aware of. POLAR will be communicating this information to each Township Supervisor .
Thank you, Jeff. This is great. I’m preparing a lengthy post on this topic for my three part series on core issues as we speak!
Enbridge’s position is that they do not need “Consent” from the Townships when accessing their roads and public spaces. The Michigan Constitution and the Highway Act say otherwise. Townships should do their due diligence prior to granting consent which includes environmental studies as well as properly valuing the new pipeline which is subject to Personal Property Tax for the Township. Residents should urge their Township Officials to prevent Enbridge from accessing Public Roads and Spaces until a more thorough review of safety standards can be reviewed on Tar Sands.