Oil Spill in Michigan
- Thread starter polarisrider1
- Start date
polarisrider1
New member
Boondocker our water is in peril!
Its about a quarter mile from me and you would not even imagine the smell. I never would have guessed that crude oil smelled so bad. 877,000 gallons of the stuff went through the small creek that goes behind my best friends house. He is taking it pretty well for someone who has been told his ground water will be effected for years to come. The company was on scene for over three hours trying to stop it before they told emergency services that there was oil in the water. That delay in responce hurt us more than any thing else.
If any one is interested in helping with the wildlife cleanup i can get information for any one interested. It is a wetland area that the spill started in and there are oil covered animals everywhere
If any one is interested in helping with the wildlife cleanup i can get information for any one interested. It is a wetland area that the spill started in and there are oil covered animals everywhere
polarisrider1
New member
I checked it out this morning. What a mess.
booondocker
New member
I'm not laughing....this is much bigger than I thought it was.
What a mess!
Has anyone said why this happened...cracked pipe, sabotage, valve that failed?
mjkaliszak
New member
I'm not too far from that catastrophy. You would think that they would have had a pressure drop somewhere that tripped an alarm ??? How do you explain 877K gallons of leakage ?
They have stated that untill they dig the pipe up that they dont know the official reason for the leak. As of mid day yesterday the guy that is heading up this operation could not confirm 100 percent that oil was not still flowing from the pipe.
They did detect the pressure drop in the pipe but by the time they got the pipe shut down it was too late and all the oil was released. Then they decided to try to stop the oil from going down stream with the eight guys they had in the area and not allert the people that could have helped. That allowed the oil to get a head start down stream and to the river.
On one positive note the wind has changed today and the smell at my place is not near as bad.
They did detect the pressure drop in the pipe but by the time they got the pipe shut down it was too late and all the oil was released. Then they decided to try to stop the oil from going down stream with the eight guys they had in the area and not allert the people that could have helped. That allowed the oil to get a head start down stream and to the river.
On one positive note the wind has changed today and the smell at my place is not near as bad.
polarisrider1
New member
Houses are being evacuated in the leak area because of the benzine smell of the oil. Also a drink bottled water alert has been posted.
they say million gallons have leaked out. what surprises me is i have worked directly with the Enbridge company, and the strict standards we were held to while hot tapping/line stoppling their (live) line. that they would of acted the way they did. (or at least what is being said). They always took every precaution to ensure that no crude would make it to the environment. and it never did. I hope for the state of Mi. and Enbridge that the mess gets the attention that it needs.
16" pipe with a possible 700-900 p.si. - wont take long to loose that amount of oil. even if and when block valves are closed. the pressure will still be their until it drops close to zero. and the distance between valves.
now i hear on our local news that it is a 30" pipe. wow! and that on 2 seperate occations they have had big spills, one just back in 2008. Mr mayor Daley is pretty upset. he says Mi. is all worried about the asian carp, but aint doing enough for the oil leak. think he needs to spend some extra time taking care of all the killings in his town.
booondocker
New member
I heard that the pipeline has been frought with problems, of corrosion and places that a pipeline can wear INSIDE the pipe (didn't know they had to worry about that) and that they have been issued warnings about correcting some of this...even fined, and that they have had numerous leaks from one end of the line to the other (probably sort of routine for pipelines, eh?)...but they do NOT have a stellar record. Unlike TV shots, crude has lots of nasty stuff that has NOT been refined out of it yet and leakage is a big deal.
Listening to FRANK MCBRIDE on WJR thursday morning defending the company because they simply "had to delay notification, and remediations" because of all the regulations both state and federal...so that is why they "delayed" and so much spilled out. This is the face of the press saying it was worse than first stated and keeping the press out of the area which has backfired for the company. Wonder who buttered Frank's bread???
Listening to FRANK MCBRIDE on WJR thursday morning defending the company because they simply "had to delay notification, and remediations" because of all the regulations both state and federal...so that is why they "delayed" and so much spilled out. This is the face of the press saying it was worse than first stated and keeping the press out of the area which has backfired for the company. Wonder who buttered Frank's bread???
thunderstruck88
New member
MARSHALL, Mich. (AP) — A public interest law firm is preparing to sue the owners of a pipeline that ruptured in southern Michigan and dumped hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil into a Kalamazoo River tributary, while area residents planned to voice their concerns Monday to government officials.
The oil flow has been stopped and government officials say it's been contained in a 25-mile stretch of the river from Marshall westward past Battle Creek. But the Environmental Protection Agency estimates it will take weeks to get the oil out of the river and months to clean it off river banks and the flood plain.
"Everybody important right now is paying attention," said Britani Lafferty, 23, whose Marengo Township home near Marshall backs up to the river. "What's going to happen when ... it's no longer a hot story and there's still animals and people still affected?"
Patrick Daniel, chief executive of pipeline owner Enbridge Inc., told an afternoon media briefing that claim workers were being set up at a Battle Creek storefront office that would be "open long after cleanup is complete." Hundreds of local residents streamed into a high school gym Monday evening where officials from Enbridge, the EPA and other government agencies were to discuss the cleanup effort.
Earlier Monday, the Great Lakes Law Center sent Enbridge a notice of intent to file a lawsuit if a settlement isn't reached within 60 days. The letter accuses the company of violating the Clean Water Act. Daniel said he needed to review the law center's letter and would reserve comment until Tuesday.
The Detroit-based law center says Enbridge could face more than $26 million in civil penalties based on the EPA's estimate that the spill exceeds 1 million gallons. The Canadian company estimates it at 820,000 gallons.
About 1.8 million gallons of oil and water mixture had been recovered as of Monday afternoon, EPA deputy incident commander Mark Durno told the afternoon media briefing. About 546,000 gallons had shipped away from the site.
Meanwhile, National Transportation Safety Board officials said Enbridge had shut down its pipeline for planned maintenance on July 25, hours before 911 calls started coming in about gas odors in the area. Fire department crews investigated using instruments designed to detect natural gas and found none.
Federal officials said an area Consumers Energy worker found oil on the ground the following morning, July 26. Enbridge said it detected the leak that day.
But the NTSB said it could not link the previous day's shutdown to the pipeline rupture and hadn't determined a cause for the rupture itself.
The EPA said it has received approval for up to $13 million to pay for the federal government's response to the spill and can request more money if needed. The government will seek full reimbursement for the money from Enbridge, and company officials have said they intend to pay for cleanup costs.
The cleanup has included rescuing reptiles, mammals and birds. More than 90 oil-covered turtles, birds and animals such as muskrats have been brought to a nearby wildlife animal rehabilitation center and several more have been taken to area wildlife refuges.
___
Associated Press Writer Jeff Karoub contributed to this report from Detroit.
The oil flow has been stopped and government officials say it's been contained in a 25-mile stretch of the river from Marshall westward past Battle Creek. But the Environmental Protection Agency estimates it will take weeks to get the oil out of the river and months to clean it off river banks and the flood plain.
"Everybody important right now is paying attention," said Britani Lafferty, 23, whose Marengo Township home near Marshall backs up to the river. "What's going to happen when ... it's no longer a hot story and there's still animals and people still affected?"
Patrick Daniel, chief executive of pipeline owner Enbridge Inc., told an afternoon media briefing that claim workers were being set up at a Battle Creek storefront office that would be "open long after cleanup is complete." Hundreds of local residents streamed into a high school gym Monday evening where officials from Enbridge, the EPA and other government agencies were to discuss the cleanup effort.
Earlier Monday, the Great Lakes Law Center sent Enbridge a notice of intent to file a lawsuit if a settlement isn't reached within 60 days. The letter accuses the company of violating the Clean Water Act. Daniel said he needed to review the law center's letter and would reserve comment until Tuesday.
The Detroit-based law center says Enbridge could face more than $26 million in civil penalties based on the EPA's estimate that the spill exceeds 1 million gallons. The Canadian company estimates it at 820,000 gallons.
About 1.8 million gallons of oil and water mixture had been recovered as of Monday afternoon, EPA deputy incident commander Mark Durno told the afternoon media briefing. About 546,000 gallons had shipped away from the site.
Meanwhile, National Transportation Safety Board officials said Enbridge had shut down its pipeline for planned maintenance on July 25, hours before 911 calls started coming in about gas odors in the area. Fire department crews investigated using instruments designed to detect natural gas and found none.
Federal officials said an area Consumers Energy worker found oil on the ground the following morning, July 26. Enbridge said it detected the leak that day.
But the NTSB said it could not link the previous day's shutdown to the pipeline rupture and hadn't determined a cause for the rupture itself.
The EPA said it has received approval for up to $13 million to pay for the federal government's response to the spill and can request more money if needed. The government will seek full reimbursement for the money from Enbridge, and company officials have said they intend to pay for cleanup costs.
The cleanup has included rescuing reptiles, mammals and birds. More than 90 oil-covered turtles, birds and animals such as muskrats have been brought to a nearby wildlife animal rehabilitation center and several more have been taken to area wildlife refuges.
___
Associated Press Writer Jeff Karoub contributed to this report from Detroit.
mjkaliszak
New member
Just coming back from BB practice last night and off to the east of the north bound lane on 69 below marshall there looks like a team ( repair crew ? ) is working feverishly on something. I kind of smells like petroleum when you drive by. My wife mentioned that it might be the pipe leak. Looks like something big is happening there.
thunderstruck88
New member
makes you wonder how many oil spills are going on all over the U.S.A. ? and they won't tell us anything about it grrrr 
polarisrider1
New member
This past Saturday night I went to a neices wedding in Marshall. I totally forgot about the oil spill. Tried to get a hotel room out by I94 at the Holiday Inn Express. They said, "All rooms are booked from Battle Creek to Jackson and Lansing to the state line (ohio). Me never even expecting this mess (how would I know those workers needed sleep) ended up with the help of the woman at the Holiday Inns front desk, she found my wife and I a room In Jackson (30 miles in the wrong direction we were heading). Well it was a dive joint but no Bed bugs. We had our motorcycles since we were doing the HD Passport thing along with killing 2 birds with one stone (the wedding). We finally got lodging at 1 am. and my wife rode her bike 30 miles in a dress. So now you all know why Andy (fgsacts) and friends think she is a saint. Well anyways, Sunday morning while I "Looked" at the continental breakfast a 3rd shift worker who was slugging down some brews said to me, "This leak thing goes on all the time". "It just so happens that in Michigan you guys have so much water that it is bound to get in it at some point, lake river or stream". Then he said, "I travel all over the US for this stuff. Now in the dessert or even in places like California it goes by with little notice". and in closing his last remark was, "Look at all the jobs it brought to the area". as if that made it okay.
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mjkaliszak
New member
Hey, I have a " great idea ". HOW about the federal government get it's crack-pot accounting staff and come to Michigan. Then they can investigate all the service stations in the state and audit their books for price fixing. You know the almost constant 10-15 cents that our gas prices fluxtuate every weekend and on holidays. They gouge us weekly. Then they can collect ( from BIG Oil ) that money and pay for the clean-up, and back charge Enbridge for the clean up costs, thus double dipping and roll he excess into the maintenance & expansion of snowmobile trails in the state . Maybe even eliminating the trail sticker fee for all Michigan residents !
Just a thought.
Just a thought.
polarisrider1
New member
Wow! You think the crooks in Lansing could organize such a venture? They are content with the big oil kickbacks so they look the other way.