Landowners lose pipeline battle

Thursday, July 19, 2007

An Associated Press story from WSAW-TV, Wausau:

WISCONSIN RAPIDS, Wis. (AP) -- The legal fight over a massive pipeline project has come to an end in Wood County Circuit Court.

The last defendant in a series of cases filed against property owners by Enbridge Energy has lost his case.

A judge yesterday ruled in favor of Enbridge and gave the company the easements needed to complete its two 321-mile pipelines from Superior to Delavan.

The lines will eventually carry 400,000 barrels of oil a day from Alberta, Canada.

The pipeline project crosses the land of more than 1300 Wisconsin property owners.

330 feet of pipeline will cross Mike Ruesch's land near Vesper.

He was one of the 27 landowners named in a lawsuit by Enbridge.

Read more about the pipeline here.

In our backyard: Oil spill fouls the Kalamazoo River and threatens Lake Michigan

Friday, July 30, 2010

From an editorial by in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

In a heartbreakingly familiar scene, workers are slogging into swollen waters to rescue wildlife and skim oil after a massive spill.

Only this time it's happening in Michigan, and this time the oil threatens not the Gulf of Mexico, but Lake Michigan. The oil must not be allowed into the lake. Federal and state officials should do everything they can to see to that.

The oil - about 1 million gallons of it - leaked from a pipeline owned by Enbridge Energy Partners before the breach was discovered and the pipeline shut down on Monday, federal officials say.

The oil quickly ran into the fast-moving Kalamazoo River and by late Thursday was 35 miles downstream, though still 80 miles from Lake Michigan. The oil slick so far has killed fish, coated wildlife and forced several evacuations. Part of a shift at Kellogg Co., the Battle Creek, Mich., maker of Frosted Flakes and other popular cereals, was halted because of the strong petroleum odor on Tuesday.

In what may be a sign that certain lessons still haven't been learned, a frustrated Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm called the response from Enbridge and the federal Environmental Protection Agency "wholly inadequate." Both EPA and Enbridge promised to do whatever it takes to clean up the spill. . . .

Oil remains the nation's lifeblood. Pipelines occasionally have problems; this pipeline was built in 1969 and may have shown signs of wear, if early reports are to be believed.

But if we've learned anything from the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, it's that vigilance is virtue. Regulations must be tough and enforced. Companies must understand their responsibility. We urge officials to examine both the company's actions and inspection regimens.

But first, stop the spill and protect the lake.

RENEW questions new Wisconsin crude oil pipeline

Friday, November 10, 2006

RENEW Wisconsin requested preparation of a full environmental impact statement (EIS) by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the proposal and application of Enbridge Energy, Limited Partners to construct two parallel 321-mile long pipelines through Wisconsin to carry crude petroleum from Alberta tar sands to refineries south of Chicago.

Enbridge Energy must receive numerous permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers because the pipeline would cross dozens of streams and wetlands.

RENEW Wisconsin submitted comments to the Corps and raised several concerns about the need for the pipeline: 1) How much petroleum can be extracted from the tar sands; 2) how much natural gas will be available for the extraction process; 3) how much the refined petroleum will help U.S. gasoline supplies compared to ethanol production; and 4) how much of the refined product will even reach Wisconsin.

In the end, RENEW said:

Enbridge Energy makes several unsubstantiated and questionable assertions in its application and related materials, and those assertions needs examination from all points of view to be certain they reflect various scenarios for the proposed project.

RENEW Wisconsin requests the opportunity to supply further documentation and testimony on the issues discussed above as part of the preparation of the EIS.

Read the complete letter.

Petroleum pipeline violations alleged

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

From a story by Barry Adams in the Wisconsin State Journal about construction of a pipeline to carry oil from Canadian tar sands to refineries in the Chicago area:

A Texas company installing two pipelines from Superior to Delavan was asked this month to stop construction on the 321-mile project following alleged multiple violations of its state-issued permit.

The state Department of Natural Resources has issued a "notice of violation " to Enbridge Energy for failure to follow the guidelines of a dredging, grading and bridge permit. The DNR is also reviewing a letter of response from Enbridge to determine if its plans will correct the problems and if further enforcement action is required.

The DNR does not have the authority to halt the project but could refer the case to the state Department of Justice, which could go to court. Fines could reach up to $5,000 a day.

In addition to the environmental issues raised by other groups, RENEW previously questioned the value of the pipeline in a letter to the DNR:

1) How much petroleum can be extracted from the tar sands;
2) how much natural gas will be available for the extraction process;
3) how much the refined petroleum will help U.S. gasoline supplies compared to ethanol production; and
4) how much of the refined product will even reach Wisconsin.

Oil pipeline backers to make case for permit across Minnesota

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

From a business brief in The Dialy Reporter:

St. Paul, MN (AP) - The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission meets Tuesday to consider a proposal for a new oil pipeline across northern Minnesota.

Enbridge Energy is seeking permits to build the pipeline from Alberta, Canada, to Superior.

The Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy opposes the project.

The group said the process of extracting the oil from Canadian tar sands is too energy-intensive and runs counter to Minnesota's energy efficiency goals.

Enbridge said the project has cleared an extensive environmental permitting process, and the pipeline is the only matter before the Minnesota commission.

The PUC must sign off for the project to go forward. A hearing is slated for Tuesday.

Related story: Wisconsin's only oil refinery still seeking supply partner

DNR ruling on pipeline expected this week

Monday, November 27, 2006

RENEW Wisconsin previously requested preparation of a full ecnomic impact statement (EIS) on the proposed Enbridge pipeline simply because the sand tars of Canada are not likely to support the pipeline for more than a few years.

A story by Andrew Hellpap in the Marshfield New Herald reports that the DNR may decide this week on whether to order an EIS:

State Department of Natural Resources officials are expected to rule early this week on a proposed petroleum pipeline from Superior to Delavan.

Phase one of Enbridge Inc.'s 321-mile pipeline would cross through the northeast corner of Clark County and diagonally from the northwest corner to the southeast corner of Wood County, intersecting lakes, rivers, forests and wetlands on private and public lands.

The public comment period on a series of DNR permits for construction of the pipeline has ended. About 30 individuals and several environmental groups raised questions about the permits and the environmental impact of the pipeline, said Jeff Schimpff, project manager for the DNR Office of Energy in Madison.

Suncor tar sands refinery leaks crude into South Platte River

Thursday, December 01, 2011

From a post on the blog of the National Defense Resource Council:

Colorado officials fear that vast amounts of petroleum have been leaking into the South Platte River from a broken pipeline at a refinery operated by tar sands producer Suncor. It is not yet clear how long oil has been leaking into the South Platte River, how much has been spilled or what substance was spilled. State officials are currently testing the water on the South Platte River, a major source of drinking water, wildlife habitat and agricultural water for Colorado and the Midwest. Meanwhile, levels of benzene and volatile organic compounds at the nearby Denver Metro Wastewater plant required a partial closure. Suncor is the oldest tar sands producers, up to 90% of its production comprised of tar sands bitumen. The company uses its Colorado refinery to process some of the heavy tar sands coming from the Express and Platte pipelines. At a time when companies like TransCanada and Enbridge are proposing to build tar sands infrastructure through our rivers and water resources---and some in Congress are trying to speed up the process by skipping environmental review---this spill provides another sad example of what can go wrong with these projects.

Pollution in the land of oil sands

Saturday, June 07, 2008

From a story by Jason Markusoff in the Edmonton Journal:

EDMONTON - A provincial advisory group has yanked from its website a pair of reports that reveal air pollutants are on the rise in the oilsands region, insisting they should have never been made public.

The Alberta Environment reports on chemical emissions and air quality show that peak concentrations of the toxic gas hydrogen sulphide in areas around the massive plants had jumped by 30 to 175 per cent since 1999, bucking a downward trend elsewhere the province.

This means the levels occasionally exceeded the province's air-quality guidelines, and one of the papers is forthright about what was happening.

"Increased activity in the oilsands is likely the cause of the increased levels seen in that area of the province," says the November 2007 paper on air-pollutant trends, prepared for the Clean Air Strategic Alliance (CASA).

A related paper shows that another pollutant, nitrous oxide gases, were on the rise because of the conventional oil and oilsands sectors. Oilsands operators had succeeded in reducing sulphur-oxide levels from 2000 to 2005, but the second report predicted they would rise as development expanded.

The findings came amid Premier Ed Stelmach and the government's repeated assertions that Alberta is a leader in environmental stewardship, and that the oilsands are clean-energy producers.

Enbridge Energy is building a pipeline through Wisconsin to carry the oil extracted from Alberta tar sands to Chicago-area refineries, and RENEW Wisconsin previously raised questions about the tar sands.