While Enbridge has decided to suspend construction activity over on the east side of Michigan, they are evidently continuing work to the west. We’ve been hearing from some more frustrated landowners over the past couple of weeks. A good example of that frustration– combined with more uncertainty and poor communication– is the subject of this latest installment of our ongoing series of landowner stories, in their own words. Exactly what’s happening in this particular neighborhood isn’t altogether clear; it appears to be testing of some sort. Whatever the case, it’s making landowners’ lives miserable:<\/p>\n
December 7, 2013<\/em><\/p>\n Today, most of my day has been blown dealing with problems related to the Enbridge construction that is currently going on in my next door neighbor\u2019s yard. We live on Dailey Road north of Edwardsburg, along the Enbridge Line 6B pipeline construction zone.\u00a0 Phase 1 and phase 2 construction zones meet in our neighbor\u2019s yard. For the last several weeks, crews have been working 24 hours a day to prepare the new phase 2 pipeline segment to be joined to the phase 1 pipeline; i.e., to make the new pipeline segment active. This has involved pumping air and\/or water through the pipeline (and who knows what else is being used?). The pumping noise has been extremely loud, 24 hours a day.\u00a0 On top of this, there has been a steady stream of trucks running all day and all night, making a huge amount of noise.\u00a0 We wake up constantly to the beep-beep-beep of trucks backing up.\u00a0 As one of my neighbors said, the noise is relentless.<\/p>\n [KGVID poster=”http:\/\/grangehallpress.com\/Enbridgeblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/IMG_0980_thumb0.jpg” width=”568″ height=”320″]http:\/\/grangehallpress.com\/Enbridgeblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/IMG_0980.mov[\/KGVID]<\/p>\n This morning, I found a message on my cell phone from (?Joey Brockman?\u2014hard to understand his name) at Enbridge warning us that sometime tonight or tomorrow night they would be blowing air and water out of the pipeline 300 feet into the air, that it would make an extremely loud noise, and that the water was likely to turn to ice.\u00a0 He wanted me to know that it was just water, not a contaminant, but that it would be very loud and ice would likely form.\u00a0 I spoke with some of the workers and then managed to connect with the person who had called me.\u00a0 He said that it would be air, not water, and would be extremely loud.\u00a0 I told him that Enbridge spokesman Tom Hodge had stated on WNDU evening news that in areas where Enbridge is working all night, they have been paying to put people up in hotels and asked why no such offer had been made to us and whether they would put us up in a hotel in anticipation of what they say will be an extremely loud noise at night. The Enbridge person said that if we wanted to stay in a hotel or to be compensated, our lawyer would have to call the Enbridge lawyers sometime on Monday. When I noted that would be after the fact, he said there was nothing they could do. He was giving us a courtesy call to warn us of the impending loud noise and associated activity but that he had no way of offering us a hotel or compensation. We\u2019d have to wait until Monday and have our lawyer call Enbridge. Given that today is Saturday, and this is imminent, Monday will be too late.<\/p>\n I spoke with the local sheriff\u2019s county dispatcher to find out whether there were any noise ordinances that could force Enbridge to do this during the day rather than at night. She told me that the same thing had happened about a year ago and that they had received a large number of phone calls of complaint and worry. She said to expect that it would be extremely loud, like a jet liner taking off right next to our house. An officer was very polite in saying that there was nothing they could do about it, but suggested that if it wakes us up, we videotape it, and that we call them if we feel that we or our home are in danger at any time. He said that we could try to file a complaint but that there are no noise ordinances in our township and that the prosecutor\u2019s office would not prosecute Enbridge, anyways.<\/p>\n After wasting a good part of the day on various phone calls, and talking with some neighbors, here are my thoughts.<\/p>\n First, this is another example of Enbridge\u2019s dishonesty when dealing with the public.\u00a0 \u00a0Enbridge spokesman Tom Hodge said on WNDU evening news last week that in areas where Enbridge is working overnight, they are putting local residents up in hotels.\u00a0 That is not happening here.\u00a0 As one of my neighbors put it, it\u2019s a complete lie.\u00a0 Many of us have been woken up repeatedly at night and the noise has been relentless. Now, they are even warning us of an extremely loud noise and air (potentially with water\/ice) spouting 300 feet upwards, sometime in the middle of the night. But when asked, they say there is no way to put us up in a hotel\u2026 have our lawyer call Enbridge\u2019s lawyers to ask (but after the fact).\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 This is another clear example of an Enbridge lie; their PR person is saying one thing on the nightly news but something completely different is being experienced by the people who actually live along the pipeline. Even when we are warned of an extremely loud noise and ask for a hotel, they say there is no way to do this.<\/p>\n Second, people who live along the pipeline have essentially no rights.\u00a0 Even if a problem occurs, our local sheriff\u2019s office tells us that unfortunately there is nothing they can do because the prosecutor\u2019s office is unlikely to act against Enbridge. I must say that our local sheriff\u2019s officers seem to be very good, caring people.<\/p>\n Third, the people who are working along the pipeline are making huge amounts of money (one worker today told me he is making $150,000 a year) but the people who live here are seeing our home life and property values decimated but are receiving no compensation. Enbridge and its workers care only about making a lot of money. They are not ethical in their treatment of the people who live here and pay taxes.<\/p>\n Fourth, Enbridge just can\u2019t get its story straight. First, they leave a message warning of water fountaining up 300 feet and forming ice. [Think about this\u2026 high pressure water and ice cascading on our neighbor\u2019s property with the potential for ice to be pushed at high pressure towards our home.] But, when I question their contention that it is completely safe, they change their story to say that it will involve no water, only air.\u00a0 But, even a blast of air coming out of the pipeline may not be \u2018safe.\u2019\u00a0 Pipelines have all sorts of coatings, some of which can contain hazardous chemicals that can get into either air or water at high pressure.<\/p>\n Fifth, what does this mean for our future? After they are done connecting up the pipelines, they will have to start cleaning out the old pipeline, which is full of contaminants from decades of operation. How long will that go on? How noisy will it be?\u00a0 I can only assume it will be happening here, as they haven\u2019t told us anything one way or another. How are they going to protect local families from potential air- or water-borne contaminants coming out of the old pipeline as they clean it? Obviously, they will say it is safe, but how can we believe them? As a professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, I have learned about the long history of companies telling people that things are safe when they are not. \u00a0They have given us no information.<\/p>\n Sixth, I have informed WNDU repeatedly that what Tom Hodge said on their news broadcast was not correct.\u00a0 I even sent them a video with sound of the horrendous noise and commotion at night. But, they have not done a follow up story questioning the PR that was broadcast on evening news. Why aren\u2019t local journalists questioning Enbridge\u2019s PR machine?\u00a0 Will they respond to my news tip about what is supposed to go on here sometime over the next two nights? Will that response be something more than an Enbridge PR person telling lies?<\/p>\n Seventh, is Enbridge doing this at night because they don\u2019t want people to see it? I\u2019ve asked for them to tell me exactly when it will be happening, but they said it was too fluid to predict the timing. On the other hand, they say it will be at night\u2026 which can only be because they don\u2019t want it to be during the light of day when people would see it and be able to videotape it easily. I could buy them saying that it will be sometime over the next 48 hours\u2014but they are not sure exactly when.\u00a0 But to say it will be AT NIGHT means that they are purposely doing it in the dark to keep people from seeing and taping what they are doing. That is scary.<\/p>\n Eighth, the workers on our neighbor\u2019s property are working in an extremely noisy environment. Yet, they often are not wearing ear protection.\u00a0 I\u2019ve noticed when I\u2019m out in my yard that I can often see them walking around without any ear protection. When I was there this morning, one of the workers showed me his ear protective gear in a brand-new, un-opened package.\u00a0 So, who is supervising to make sure that all of the proper safety regulations are enforced?\u00a0 I have earaches\/ringing in my ears today after only being next to the site for 5 minutes.\u00a0 But, they are there for hours on end and not always wearing ear protective gear. What other safety regulations are they not following? I plan to call OSHA on Monday to make a complaint. BTW, there were no \u2018no trespassing\u2019 signs or other warnings anywhere near the site, and I was not asked to leave. I left on my own accord because of fear of damage to my ears. What if I had been a child?<\/p>\n Finally, what kind of Christmas are we going to have?\u00a0 Will the incessant noise and worry (of potential contamination\u2014and who knows what else could happen at a major construction site?) go on all through Christmas as it did through Thanksgiving?\u00a0 Will they offer a hotel or (better yet) compensation? After all, who wants to spend Christmas in a hotel rather than at home?\u00a0 Can we ever believe anything Enbridge says?<\/p>\n This is only one tiny part of a long saga of our problems with Enbridge.\u00a0\u00a0 This is a company that is making billions of dollars and that is running a dangerous pipeline. It should be treating local citizens honestly and with integrity.\u00a0 It should be following safety guidelines strictly.\u00a0 It should be doing everything it can to protect the local homeowners and the environment.\u00a0 It\u2019s good that Enbridge actually called to warn us in advance; but a warning is not enough to provide homeowners the \u2018peace of mind\u2019 that Enbridge keeps talking about. And, I suspect the warning was not for our sakes but for theirs\u2026 it could be embarrassing to have a bunch of panicky homeowner phone calls to the police in the middle of the night (which apparently happened before).<\/p>\n December 10, 2013<\/em><\/p>\n This morning, we were woken up very early to an extremely loud, piercing noise throughout our house. Once it was bright enough, I walked out and took photos of the site, where Enbridge is discharging vapor into the atmosphere. The smell was quite strong and organic, which caused me to start having an asthma attack.\u00a0\u00a0I took a number of short videos and some photos, although it is hard to get clear shots because the work is happening on the other side of large mounds that Enbridge has created.<\/p>\n [KGVID poster=”http:\/\/grangehallpress.com\/Enbridgeblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/IMG_1014_thumb0.jpg” width=”568″ height=”320″]http:\/\/grangehallpress.com\/Enbridgeblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/IMG_1014.mov[\/KGVID]<\/p>\n I called the sheriff\u2019s office and told them about the extremely loud noise and organic smell and the fact that Enbridge may be violating Michigan ordinance\u00a0\u00a0750.352 Molesting and disturbing persons in pursuit of occupation, vocation or avocation<\/b>\u00a0given that I am trying to work at home today. I told them that the air pollution was causing an asthma attack. They said they could not do anything about it. I had to cancel a phone conference because of Enbridge\u2019s activities, so it in indeed affecting my work.<\/p>\n I also called the PHMSA hotline and voiced my concerns that Enbridge is venting something from their pipeline activities that is causing not just a huge amount of noise but also a very bad smell in the air. They said they would inform the EPA.<\/p>\n Enbridge has been making a huge amount of noise all day and all night for weeks as they work to link up Line 6B Phase 1 and Phase 2 on our neighbor\u2019s property. Despite the fact that Tom Hodge stated on WNDU nightly news that they are putting people up in hotels in areas where they are working all night, no such offer was made and when we asked an agent who called this weekend, he told us they could not do anything.\u00a0\u00a0This is causing massive disturbance for our family. Our son keeps getting woken up at night which is a serious problem when he has school (or SAT tests!) the next morning.\u00a0\u00a0We are also woken up repeatedly, and when we try to work from home we are often disturbed.\u00a0\u00a0This morning, it is completely impossible to get any work done because of the loud noise and air pollution, and my phone conference had to be postponed. I am about to head out because of this.<\/p>\n I would like to go outside and hold up a sign along the road protesting Enbridge\u2019s unethical treatment of homeowners but the air pollution and noise are too overwhelming. Enbridge has created enormous problems for our family for months. When will this stop? When will they begin to act in an honest, ethical manner? \u00a0When will they put enough money into engineering (noise reduction, pollution reduction, etc.) that they won’t cause such problems for local families?<\/p>\n Patricia Maurice, Cass County, MI<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" While Enbridge has decided to suspend construction activity over on the east side of Michigan, they are evidently continuing work to the west. We’ve been hearing from some more frustrated landowners over the past couple of weeks. 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