Oil and Water

Loreen Niewenhuis is an author, adventurer, and Great Lakes speaker. She has completed a trilogy of 1,000-mile adventures exploring the Great Lakes and has written three books about the Great Lakes [A 1,000-Mile Walk on the Beach *a Heartland Indie Bestseller*, A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Walk *winner of the Great Lakes Great Reads Award*, and A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Island Adventure]. To learn more about her work, or to book her as a speaker, go to http://LakeTrek.com

There are underground and underwater pipelines carrying oil throughout the Great Lakes Basin. 

Map of pipelines

Five years ago, this reality became shockingly apparent in southwest Michigan when one of Enbridge Energy Company's pipelines ruptured near Marshall, Michigan spilling nearly a million gallons of heavy crude oil into a creek that fed into the Kalamazoo River. 

The Kalamazoo River flows through Battle Creek where I currently live. It has taken years and hundreds of millions of dollars to clean it up.

Enbridge owns and maintains many of the pipelines in the basin, including the one submerged in the water at the Straits of Mackinac (the 5-mile wide waterway separating Michigan's upper and lower peninsulas). This pipeline is 61 years old. 

"I can't even imagine if we had some kind of spill that sent oil into the Great Lakes," said US Senator Stabenow. "We remember what happened in the Kalamazoo (River)."

"After experiencing one of the largest inland oil spills in U.S. history, Michiganders know all too well that a pipeline break can have devastating consequences for our environment and our economy,” said US Senator Peters. "One can imagine what a disaster it would be for a similar oil spill to occur in the Great Lakes."

A study done at the University of Michigan found that a rupture in this pipeline would devastate the Great Lakes. Read about that study HERE. 

Michigan's U.S. Senators Stabenow and Peters have teamed up to propose legislation to protect our Great Lakes from oil spills. Even if you're not a Michigander (or even living in the Great Lakes Basin), this is sound legislation to protect these inland seas containing 84% of the fresh, surface water in North America. 

Read more about the legislation HERE.

And contact your representatives in Congress if you support its passage.

Asian Carp within 6 Miles of Lake Michigan

A 20 pound, 34 inch Asian carp has been found PAST the electric barriers, just 6 miles from Lake Michigan.

The Honorable Senator Stabenow's call for action is below. In a letter she sent, she says:

"The Permanent Prevention of Asian Carp Act requires the Army Corps of Engineers to follow the recommendations of top experts in the field and expedite their study detailing the engineering options to permanently separate the Mississippi River from the Great Lakes."

Fighting the Asian Carp Another Way

After the Supreme Court sided with protecting the minimal economic interests of the state of Illinois in their decision to let the locks continue operating in the waterways leading to Lake Michigan, I wasn't sure what other actions could be taken. Enter the Honorable Debbie Stabenow, Senator for the state of Michigan. She has introduced the CARP ACT in Congress.

If passed, it will take decisive action to keep the carp from reaching the lake including:

Immediate closure of certain Chicago-area locks: Directs the Army Corps of Engineers to close the O'Brien Lock and Dam and the Chicago Controlling Works until a controlled lock operations strategy is developed.

Immediate installation of interim barriers : Directs the Army Corps of Engineers to install barriers in the North Shore Channel and the Grand and Little Calumet Rivers to prevent the migration of bighead and silver carps into Lake Michigan, as well as between the Des Plaines River and the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (CSSC) and between the Illinois & Michigan (I&M) Canal and the CSSC to prevent carp from entering the Canal during a flood event.

Enhancement of existing barriers and monitoring systems: Includes granting authority to the Army Corps of Engineers to acquire all real estate interests necessary for the construction, operation and maintenance of the barrier system.

Mitigating the impact on commerce and the City of Chicago: Instructs the Army Corps of Engineers to conduct two studies: one to develop a strategy to mitigate the effects of this bill on existing commerce in the canals and rivers, and one to abate the effects on Chicago flood control.

Preventing and eradicating Asian Carp: Grants the Army Corps of Engineers new authority to eliminate and prevent the spread of Asian Carp through the use of fish toxicant, commercial fishing and netting, harvesting, and other means necessary.

This points out the wisdom of a three-branch democracy. Checks and balances, my friends, balances and checks.

Let's encourage the Executive and Legislative branches to bring some balance back to the system after the recent Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. If this decision stands unchallenged, we will move from a democracy to a corpocracy where corporations control the government. If that happens, the government formerly 'of the people, by the people, for the people' will no longer exist.