Construction update
This one is personally painful: workers have arrived in Groveland Township. This tractor was eating up our garden this morning. Tree clearing crews are at I-75 and could be on our property as early as today.
NWF report on Line 5 getting plenty of attention
We’re very pleased to see that the report released by the National Wildlife Federation on the potential dangers of Enbridge’s aging Line 5, which passes through the Straits of Mackinac, is getting so much play in the media. The Detroit Free Press has reported on the story, as has Michigan Radio. Even the New York Times has a piece on it this morning.
And over at the Wildlife Promise blog, our friend Beth Wallace writes more about it, and links to the full report. Check it out. It’s important stuff.
One little observation about all of this: the NY Times spoke with the now-infamous (to us) Enbridge spokesman Larry Springer, who has this to say:
“I think it’s interesting that they’ve gone to this extent, but they have not gotten their facts straight,” Mr. Springer said.
We find it interesting that Mr. Springer couldn’t be bothered to say which facts, exactly, NWF did not get straight.
Citizens taking it to the pols
Three cheers for the irrepressible Beth Duman and Katy Bodenmiller! The latest from David Hasemyer at Inside Climate News asks where Michigan’s elected officials have been. A few choice bits:
Bodenmiller on state elected officials:
“I think it’s their duty to have a keen interest in this pipeline.”
On the recent MTA amicus filing:
Brandon Township Supervisor Kathy Thurman says the collective voice of the association adds authority to the grassroots belief that even a giant corporation like Enbridge must obey the rules.
And from Damon Hill, a spokesman for the federal agency responsible for pipeline regulations:
“PHMSA has pipeline safety regulations that cover design and construction of pipelines,” Hill said. “PHMSA does not have siting and permitting oversight. That lies with the state and local agencies.”
Please share and spread this article far and wide. Let’s see if we can’t wake up some of our politicians. Surely somebody wants to actually lead!
Construction update– with pictures
The latest update from our ROW agent tells us that the survey team is well ahead of the construction crew, headed east. They have reached Hensel road. The clearing crew has crossed Buckhorn Lake road and pipe has been placed on top of the ground from highway 23 to Denton hill road. A long stretch of pipe, starting at highway 23 going east, has been welded. (more…)
More on the EPA’s Kalamazoo cleanup order
Over at Inside Climate News, David Hasemyer continues to deliver the goods. And we have to say, it’s not just that the reporting is so very good; it’s that the smart folks at ICN understand the importance of staying on a story.
Oh, and Enbridge? Well, they pretty much just shrug their shoulders:
Enbridge did not respond to requests for comment for this story. But in an Aug. 24 letter to the EPA, the company said it did not believe that more dredging—especially in the area near the Ceresco Dam—was necessary.
And Enbridge wonders why people don’t trust them
This just in: our friend Robert Whitesides was right. Remember the activity over in Capac that Enbridge spokesman Jason Manshum said was for integrity work on Line 5? Well, now that same Jason Manshum says that it’s actually a staging area for the Line 6B replacement project, just as Whitesides said (and as we wondered). Of course, it’s a staging for a project for which Enbridge still does not have approval, but still…
Which has us once again scratching our heads and wondering why it is that Enbridge can’t just be forthright from the beginning. Why can’t they just be “open and honest,” as they claim to be? There’s so little to be gained by dissembling to Maria Brown of the Tri-City Times (and kudos to her for staying on the story!) and so much to be lost– namely, their credibility and the trust of their stakeholders. It really defies logic.
Taking our show on the road
As some of you may know, among the most valuable and important resource for those of us interested in pipeline safety is the Pipeline Safety Trust, a non-profit public charity promoting fuel transportation safety through education and advocacy. (The story of their creation is inspiring: read it here.) They’ve been indispensable (and tremendously generous) to us from the day we began to educate ourselves about all this stuff.
So we are grateful to report that they’ve invited us to speak as part of a landowners’ panel at their annual conference. This year’s theme is “Pipeline Safety– Trust But Verify.” We’re very excited for the opportunity to talk with and learn from landowners, advocates, public officials, regulators, and even industry representatives from all over the country. And perhaps best of all, we get to meet face to face a bunch of smart, tireless, accomplished people—- a bunch of them from Michigan!– we’ve only encountered so far through the magic of the internet.
The conference is in New Orleans on November 8-9. We will, of course, be blogging about our experience and most of the conference sessions will be webcast live (ours is on Thursday afternoon), so anyone who’s interested might actually be able to watch us speak. We promise to try our best not to stammer and stumble too much and to do our Line 6B friends and neighbors proud.
Brad Jacobsen replies
No sooner had we posted our political roll call describing our disappointing encounters with our elected officials than, checking our mailbox, we discovered the promised letter from our state representative, Brad Jacobsen. And we have to say, in fairness, that it is a much more satisfying response than we’ve received from any other legislator at the state or federal level to date (though we hasten to note that the bar is remarkably low).
Two things Rep. Jacobsen says have us prepared to offer him some (qualified) praise. (more…)
Capac mystery explained
According to Enbridge’s Jason Manshum, the activity in Capac is preparation for integrity work on Line 5. Maria Brown has the details at the Tri-City Times.