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[marilyn.monroe]

Enbridge pipeline controllers in Edmonton ignored repeated leak warnings for 17 hours before shutting down a pipeline that poured 20,000 barrels of oil into the Kalamazoo River in Michigan in July 2010, says a report from the U. S. National Transportation Safety Board.
 
The report details how pipeline-monitoring staff in Enbridge’s Edmonton control room could not agree that a leak had occurred, while ignoring alarms that should have triggered a shutdown of the pipeline within 10 minutes of the leak occurring.
 
A school bus length section of the pipeline ruptured on July 25, 2010, pouring more than 20,000 barrels of diluted bitumen into a 60-kilometre stretch of the Kalamazoo River.
 
Two days ago, Enbridge reported it had completed the cleanup, but there are still reports of oil contamination along the river.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/story/2012/06/22/edmonton-enbridge-leak-kalamazoo-river-report-united-states.html

[marilyn.monroe]

Enbridge identified the Environment Canada unit as part of its emergency response plan in March 2011, before the Harper government's 2012 budget eliminated regional jobs and funding for the team that responds to environmental accidents and disasters.
Gotta pay for that bridge! Who cares about the oil spill? Michigan is a freaking waste dump anyway.

Enbridge also was facing questions after a report from the U.S. Transportation Safety Board revealed that the company's Edmonton staff took about 17 hours to respond to warnings and shut down a pipeline that eventually leaked about three million litres of diluted bitumen from the oilsands into the Kalamazoo River in Michigan two years ago. The regulator's investigation is still ongoing.

Enbridge said all sections of the Kalamazoo River are now reopened but its cleanup efforts continue, nearly two years after the spill.

"The public could see oil sheen or flecks of oil in the river, even after sections open," Enbridge said in a statement released on June 21.


http://www.canada.com/news/Enbridge+federal+cuts+would+undermine+spill+response/6849982/story.html

June 20 2012: Another Enbridge oil spill-Elk Point, Alberta
http://dogwoodinitiative.org/blog/no-tankers-news-roundup/june-20-2012

Enbridge Oil Spill-Kalamazoo-Damages 767 Million US Dollars and Counting
Enbridge has said the rupture resulted in the release of 843,444 gallons of diluted bitumen crude, though the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says on its website that 1,148,230 gallons of oil has already been collected in and near Michigan's Kalamazoo River.

Significant attention has focused on the "human error" aspect of the 2010 spill, since the company didn't start taking action until 17 hours after the first alarm warned of problems in Michigan.

The crude was released in a wetland area near Marshall, Michigan, a "high consequence area within a mostly rural, wet and low-lying region," according to the NTSB.

"The released oil pooled into a marshy area over the rupture site before flowing 700 feet south into Talmadge Creek, which ultimately carried it into the Kalamazoo River."

The U.S. Department of Transportation, in its justification for the $3.7 millionWhoopee. fine that Enbridge has the right to challenge, also noted in its findings that Enbridge did not deal with "corrosion anomalies" on the Michigan line dating back to 2004.

http://www.canada.com/business/agency+rule+Enbridge+spill+Michigan/6906886/story.html

[Frenchfry]

Report Finds Oil Company Failures Enabled Disastrous Oil Spill in Gulf of Mexico

[marilyn.monroe]

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — On the second anniversary of the costliest onshore oil spill in U.S. history, environmental groups held rallies in several states Wednesday to raise concerns about transporting tar sands oil in underground pipelines.
 
Demonstrators walked along the riverfront in Battle Creek, near the southwestern Michigan site where a pipeline ruptured in 2010 and spewed hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil into the Kalamazoo River. Others staged "We Are the Kalamazoo" events in other states to rally opposition to new and expanded pipelines for carrying oil from sand deposits.
 
Tar sands are sand and rock that contain crude bitumen, a heavy form of crude oil.
 
"By taking a stand against tar sands, we are fighting for people's rights and health," said Susan Connolly, who participated in the Battle Creek walk and lives in Marshall, the town nearest the spill.
 
She said the spill — which spewed an estimated 843,000 gallons of crude in the river and a tributary creek — created fumes that gave her family nausea and headaches. The cleanup has cost so far a record $800 million.

http://online.wsj.com/article/AP4947ffd910aa408aaa8584b69b5a363f.html

And they want to expand the fracker. Hell NO!

[BigRedDog]

Enbridge Energy has had another pipeline spill, just weeks after federal investigators blasted the company for 2010's Kalamazoo River oil spill.

According to various media reports, Enbridge's Line 14 pipeline spilled about 1,200 barrels, or 50,000 gallons of oil spilled near Grand Marsh, Wisc.

More at:  http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2012/07/enbridge_pipeline_spills_in_wi.html

[marilyn.monroe]

The Brandon Township Board unanimously passed a resolution Monday demanding that Enbridge Energy meet eight requirements before beginning construction of its oil pipeline in the township.

Hopefully this will inspire other local governments to more proactively represent citizens!


The resolution was not a surprise, but the final version passed by the board was more specific and demands compliance from the pipeline company before it begins construction in the township. The project is planned as a replacement of the line that ruptured near Marshall in 2010, spilling possibly more than a million gallons of tar sands oil into a tributary of the Kalamazoo River.


The resolution seeks standards for pipeline wall thickness and other areas that are “equal to or greater than” a pipeline the company wants to build in western Canada. The resolution also seeks a guarantee from the company that it will not ship petroleum or environmentally hazardous products through the current line once it is deactivated. Enbridge pledged in a July press release to, among other things, increase the thickness of pipeline walls in its Northern Gateway Project and take other measures that “go above and beyond anything that has ever been done before in the industry.”


Northern Gateway would ship tar sands oil from Alberta to British Columbia for shipment to Asia.


http://www.freep.com/article/20120821/NEWS03/120821076/Brandon-Twp-Board-passes-resolution-demanding-safety-standards-for-Enbridge-oil-pipeline




The township resolution, which makes eight demands of the pipeline company, calls tar sands oil "extremely hazardous to the environment and all forms of life."

The resolution says Enbridge should increase the thickness of pipeline walls, making it even thicker over water crossings; calls for a minimum of 50% more inline inspection surveys over current standards for the entire pipeline system, and seeks compensation for the use of township roads. !

"I do find it interesting that they can assure that the pipeline project in Alberta is built and operated to the highest standards yet in the (United) States, we're not necessarily assured those same standards will be met," Township Supervisor Thurman said.

Frack Enbridge.

Although the company has managed to sign agreements with many residents for expanded permanent easements and temporary work areas during construction, a number of landowners said they signed under duress, and a stand-off with landowners in Livingston County remains unresolved.

Contractors working for Enbridge were forced to leave Wednesday after they had begun clearing trees on property in Tyrone Township owned by David and Debora Hense.

Take that corporate bullies. 

http://www.freep.com/article/20120820/NEWS05/308200015/Brandon-Township-demand-higher-safety-standards-Enbridge-oil-pipeline



Pipeline foes urged to sue

Livingston County residents living along Enbridge Energy LP's Line 6B are being urged to file a lawsuit seeking a halt to the pipeline-replacement project that began here last month.

The newly formed Protect Our Land and Rights Legal Defense Fund, or POLAR, voted to fund a lawsuit — if sought by residents — in Circuit Court seeking a temporary restraining order against Enbridge and a halt to construction.

Nothing has been filed in court, and most county residents — several are still in negotiations for easement agreements with Enbridge — are not yet on board for a lawsuit.

POLAR is claiming Enbridge hasn't obtained a laundry list of necessary state and local permits, even though the project was approved in late May by the Michigan Public Service Commission.

Public service my ***.


http://www.livingstondaily.com/article/20120815/NEWS01/208150310

[Baggins]

Building more pipelines is a step in the WRONG direction...