by Jeffrey Insko | Aug 4, 2012 |
If you haven’t seen it yet, the NTSB Pipeline Accident Report on the 2010 Enbridge spill in Marshall, Michigan is a riveting– and revealing– document. Still, we understand that 100-plus pages of fact-finding released by a federal regulatory agency isn’t exactly everyone’s idea of fun summer reading. So for that reason, we’re launching a new series, in which we’ll tell you some stories drawn from the NTSB report and try to draw some lessons relevant to the Line 6B project. Here’s our first installment:
Part 1: Does Enbridge Learn from its Mistakes? (more…)
by Jeffrey Insko | Aug 3, 2012 |
In the first two installments of our three-part series on core issues for landowners and residents affected by the Enbridge Line 6B project (and that’s pretty much all of us!) we discussed individual landowner negotiations and local consent. In our discussion of the latter, we emphasized the importance for local municipalities to try and assert their autonomy and authority (granted by the state constitution) by insisting that Enbridge follow the law and seek consent before beginning construction. We ended that post with the key question: what good it will do for local municipalities to demand that Enbridge seek their consent? That is, what is to be gained?
The key answer to that question (in our view) can be summed up in a single word: safety.
Core issue #3: Safety (more…)
by Jeffrey Insko | Aug 3, 2012 |
From Reuters:
“PHMSA has communicated its longstanding concerns about this pattern of failures with (Enbridge) over the past several years,” PHMSA wrote in the amendment to its order. “Given the nature, circumstances, and gravity of this pattern of accidents, additional corrective measures are warranted.”
by Jeffrey Insko | Aug 3, 2012 |
by Jeffrey Insko | Aug 3, 2012 |
More excellent reporting by Susan Bromley of The Citizen in Brandon. The Brandon Township board and its attorney, showing great leadership, are taking the issue of local consent very seriously. Will other townships follow their lead?
by Jeffrey Insko | Aug 2, 2012 |
The NTSB final report has been released in its entirety– and “it just gets worse.” Here’s a small taste:
“Although these deficiencies involved different elements of Enbridge’s operations, and may appear unrelated, taken together they suggest a systemic deficiency in the company’s approach to safety. “
by Jeffrey Insko | Aug 2, 2012 |
Core issue #2: Local consent
When a right of way agent from Enbridge knocked on our door carrying a map showing the route of Line 6B, a copy of Michigan’s eminent domain laws, and the bad news that we were going to see the stand of very large trees and the perennial garden in our backyard totally razed, we didn’t quite know what hit us. We’d seen Enbridge in the neighborhood two years earlier doing “integrity digs” and we had received notice that they had plans to “replace” the pipe that runs across our property. But that’s about it. It was months into our negotiations before we got word of any public forums at which the project would be discussed, news stories about the project were pretty much non-existent, and our local municipality appeared to have very little interest (at least formally) in the project.
It was as if Enbridge’s sudden appearance in our township was just a change in the weather: a natural occurrence like rain or fog, something hardly worth mentioning, much less something anyone could do anything to change. (more…)
by Jeffrey Insko | Aug 2, 2012 |
We’ve posted several new links to our ever-growing list of “Enbridge News Stories” (over on the right, organized chronologically) and we will continue to do so, so check back frequently. Recent additions include an excerpt from a seven-month investigation into the Marshall spill by InsideClimate News (the full story is available here) and from Reuters, a list of Enbridge oil pipeline incidents over the past decade.
by Jeffrey Insko | Aug 2, 2012 |
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.
by Jeffrey Insko | Aug 1, 2012 |
Among the most disheartening elements of our experience as landowners dealing with Enbridge has been an apparent lack of knowledge or even interest in the Line 6B “replacement” on the part of our elected officials (at the federal, state, and local levels) and the press. The disturbing lack of public discussion and awareness on this issue– and it appears that Enbridge likes it that way– is one of the reasons we started this blog.
In a three-part post, I’d like to mention some core issues that ought to be of widespread public concern, with a word or two about what individuals can do to help raise awareness of them:
Core Issue #1: Individual landowner negotiations. (more…)
by Jeffrey Insko | Aug 1, 2012 |
Our friends down in Indiana are making a push to help inform landowners and demand transparency from Enbridge. They’ve started a petition to urge Enbridge and environmental and regulatory agencies to hold public meetings (something that has happened far too infrequently here in Michigan) about the pipeline expansion in northwest Indiana.
Let’s support them and spread the word.
by Jeffrey Insko | Aug 1, 2012 |
We’ve made a couple of updates to the blog: all of the Enbridge News links (over on the right) are now in chronological order. And we’ve also added the ability for readers to subscribe: now you can be notified of new posts by email. Please take a minute and become a subscriber!
Some longer posts with important information coming up later today. Stay tuned…
by Jeffrey Insko | Aug 1, 2012 |
More on the Wisconsin spill from Michigan radio.
