Enbridge Oil Pipeline Spill...3 Years Later

Three years ago, an underground oil pipeline operated by Enbridge Energy Partners (Enbridge) ruptured and leaked over a million gallons of heavy tar sands oil into a creek just east of where I live. The creek (Talmadge Creek) flowed into the Kalamazoo River which flows through the center of my town, Battle Creek. In the early days of the leak, it smelled like every road in the county had just been paved with hot asphalt. But it was just the stench from the lighter parts of the oil evaporating off the river into the air. 

While some of the oil was captured in booms and skimmed off the top of the water, the heavier part of the oil sank to the bottom of the river. Enbridge skimmed the rivers, then spent the second year agitating the riverbed to liberate the heavier portion and gather it for disposal. 

Then, Enbridge tried to walk away from the site 
saying it was taken care of.

That's when the EPA again tested the riverbed and estimated that at least 80,000 gallons (and as much as three times that amount) still remains submerged in the river.

So, the clean-up of the largest pipeline spill in America's history is in its third year. Sections of the river are closed, heavy machinery and conveyance piping to remove the toxic sludge will be brought in and assembled.

This spill contaminated 35 miles of the Kalamazoo River...which flows into Lake Michigan. The spill was contained before it reached the Great Lake, but it did contaminate Lake Morrow about 80 miles inland from Lake Michigan.

For insight into the tar sands mining operation in Alberta where this toxic, sludgy form of petroleum is mined, watch this Ted Talk. 

For the latest on clean-up efforts in the Kalamazoo River, go here.

Enbridge is working to DOUBLE the amount of tar sands oil they  move through pipelines to refineries in Michigan and Ohio. 
Read about it here.

Enbridge Oil Pipeline Rupture, 2 1/2 years after the incident

In July of 2010, an oil pipeline ruptured in Michigan spilling 1.1 million gallons of heavy crude into the Kalamazoo River.

Over two years and hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent cleaning up the river.

This was the nation's 

costliest oil pipeline accident.

Consider this:  Enbridge has a pipeline that rests at the bottom of the Straits of Mackinac. What if the rupture had taken place there instead of inland and contained in a river?  Would the shores of Mackinac Island still be coated in thick oil? How much of that spill would now be working its way down past Port Huron, Detroit, and into Lake Erie? 

Do you think it can't happen? Enbridge pipelines have had a dozen leaks in the state of Michigan alone since 2003. 

I walked along the river earlier this month:

A Win-Win-Win-Win Situation for the Great Lakes

I have blogged about the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) several times. This is the largest investment into our Great Lakes in two decades and is a five-year plan to fund programs to improve the health of our lakes. The funding targets five specific areas:

1. Cleaning up toxics and areas of concern
2. Combating invasive species
3. Promoting nearshore health by protecting watersheds from polluted run-off
4. Restoring wetlands and other habitats
5. Working with partners on outreach

With the stalled economy, this ambitious program has been scaled back in the budget each of the years it has been included thus far. Still, it is doing a lot of good on many levels in the Great Lakes Region.

On August 23, the EPA announced that the GLRI is setting aside $6 million for federal agencies to sign up unemployed workers to complete projects "in federally-protected areas, on tribal lands and in Areas of Concern in the Great Lakes Basin."

"These projects will help to restore the Great Lakes and put Americans back to work," said EPA Great Lakes National Program Manager and Regional Administrator Susan hedman. "In a sense, we will be using these funds to create a small-scale 21st century Civilian Conservation Corps."

This complex approach to a complex set of problems will benefit the Great Lakes Region on many levels. As I've mentioned before, the Brookings Institution (a nonpartisan group) estimated that for every $1 invested in the GLRI will give back $2 to the region.

This benefit must actually increase if the GLRI is used to employ the unemployed in the region. Those wages will be taxed in the region supporting schools, roads, and other community services. Those wages will be spent in the region supporting local businesses.

Win-win-win-win.

Contact your represenatives in support of the GLRI, and learn more about the program and the projects it funds HERE.

The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative

A House-Senate conference committee now has the funding level of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) in their hands. The House committee fully funded the initiative at $475 million, but the Senate committee slashed it by $75 million. Hopefully this final committee can restore the funding to its full amount.

The Plain Dealer in Cleveland recently ran an editorial about this topic.

Great Lakes Restoration Initiative

The EPA is holding public meetings all around the Great Lakes basin to solicit input and feedback about the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GRLI). This is a bold plan to target five issues that need to be addressed to make the Great Lakes healthier. They are: addressing toxic substance, combating current invasive species and preventing further introduction of new species, nearshore health and nonpoint source pollution, habitat and wildlife protection and restoration, and, finally, accountability (including monitoring, evaluation, communication, partnerships).

President Obama pledged $5 billion over the course of ten years to restore the Great Lakes. The first installment, over $400 million, should be approved by Congress for the fiscal year 2010.

The meeting I attended yesterday was in Lansing and had over 250 attendees representing such diverse organizations as Ducks Unlimited, The Alliance for the Great Lakes, Kalamazoo Watershed Council, and the Saginaw Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau. There were also government officials including the Mayor of Grand Rapids (Mayor Hartwell), and representatives from some of Michigan's Congress members. There were also a handful of concerned citizens who love the lakes. That's why I was there.

The GRLI comes with a well-developed plan on how to turn the funding into action and results which target the areas that need the most improvement. It was encouraging to hear Cameron Davis from the EPA talking about swimming in Lake Michigan with his family this summer before he talked about policy and funding. And it was fantastic to know that this money comes with a plan so that actions can result in positive, measurable change for the lakes.

Learn more about the GRLI at: http://www.epa.gov/greatlakes/glri/index.html

The EPA will take feedback on the plan until August 19 through their site.