Is it possible that we’ve turned a corner?
Today, the nearly unspeakable happened. We had to pinch ourselves at first just to make sure we weren’t dreaming. You see, for the first time in several emails over a period of months, we received a reply from Jason Manshum. Yes, you heard that right– an actual reply! And not just one reply: he also responded to a follow-up.
We are grateful that he took the time. After all, we understand that replying to us can be a little tricky and seemingly risky. We have not hesitated to criticize when criticism is warranted. At the same time, however, we don’t withhold praise and gratitude when that is warranted. Bafflingly, this is the thing Enbridge never seems to have understood, despite available evidence. And we don’t play games. We’re not looking to bait or trick or ambush or play gotcha or anything else. All we have EVER wanted is honest, direct, straightforward, good faith communication. We’ll also add that however much we may be critical here– we’re just calling ’em like we see ’em– we also strive to be fair and unfailingly polite in our communications with Enbridge representatives; in fact, we have never been anything but.
In other words, none of this is very complicated.
Anyway, we asked Jason about the segmenting and capping matter that we mentioned the other day. At first blush, the information seemed rather odd and unclear (though the lack of clarity may have been partly the reporter’s fault) and it was certainly not something we’d ever heard before. Manshum’s explanation is as follows (we’re paraphrasing):
The way the deactivation works, the old pipe is not just capped at either end of the long 200-plus mile stretch (one end in Griffith, Indiana and the other in Marysville, Michigan). Rather, as portions of the replacement line are complete, the old sections are deactivated, capped, and the new segments put into operation. In many cases, this capping takes place at pumping stations (which makes sense to us), but not always. So currently, portions of the replacement line are already in operation, such as the 5 miles stretch outside the Marshall pumping station.
Obviously, we are no experts. But none of this strikes us as particularly troublesome or irregular. It is a little strange that this wasn’t explained to us clearly from the start and it doesn’t ease any of the original, longstanding concerns so many of us have had from the beginning of all of this. On the other hand, we also don’t think it’s cause for any additional concerns– unless someone explains to us otherwise.
So thank you once again to Jason for clearing this matter up. See how easy that was? Perhaps this little exchange will open the door to a new phase of ongoing, cordial, transparent communication. It would certainly be appropriate, given that we’re on our way to a conference devoted to fostering just that kind of communication.
The process you explain is going on right next door to us, on our neighbor’s property (where the different phases are coming together) and it is awful. What they didn’t explain is that before they can move from using the old pipeline to the new one, they have to run high pressure tests for days and also flush contaminants from the old pipeline. It goes on day and night for many days and nights and is extremely loud. It is almost impossible to sleep at all if you are anywhere near where this is going on… and believe me they do not even try to be more quiet at 3 in the morning.
The other very major problem is that although they flush the old line, they cannot get it completely clean. In fact, a lot of organic contaminants, heavy metals, and even radionuclides (yes, petroleum has radionuclides and over many years a fair amount can accumulate). So, when they flush an area, cut, and cap, they run a huge risk of some of the old contaminant leaking out. Do you trust them? I sure don’t!!! And, because this is happening in peoples’ yards, it means their soils, ground water, etc. can become contaminated.
They make it all sound like a simple, clean, surgical exercise. It is not. It is messy, extremely loud and obnoxious, and risky. The other day, they were doing this through one of the worst thunderstorms/high winds I’ve ever seen, and what would have happened if we had been hit by a tornado at the time?
Jeff, you are such a trooper but do not be fooled by what sounds so simple. They are not being forthright here.
P.S. This is the reason why Enbridge sent us a lying letter a long time ago saying that they would stay off our property in LIne 6B construction. It’s because they did not want me to be a stakeholder who could attend permitting meetings and raising issues about the pump and cap procedures such as (1) They will only be able to partially clean the old pipeline–it is pretty much impossible due to surface chemistry constraints to completely clean it, (2) concerns about the transport and disposal of the hazardous waste that will be generated from the old pipeline (3) the potential for the still contaminated pipe to leak over time as the pipe material corrodes, leaking contaminants into ground water, and (4) the potential for spills to occur near ground water, wetlands, etc. when they cut open a still dirty pipeline and cap it. They know they have been let off the hook by the state and fed govts who have not questioned their procedures, and they absolutely did not want me testifying and raising questions.
The noise alone is incredible. I know, I’m living through it for days and nights on end right now with no compensation, no offer of a hotel, nothing…..