OT - The Battle Creek Oil Spill (Damn Canadians)
As some, or most, of you may have heard, about 800,000 gallons of oil has spilled into the Kalamazoo River. The leak flowed down a creek into the river in Battle Creek. The news has hit nationwide and I just watched the NBC Nightly News segment showing the absolutely tarnished river.
As a Battle Creek native and a lifelong fisherman of the Kalamazoo River, I feel obligated to bitch for eternity on the internet about this irresponsibility displayed by another damned oil company (Enbridge Energy Partners - an associate of Canadian-based Enbridge). People from back home are complaining of the oil smell all across the city and you can probably kiss any worthwhile fishing goodbye for a good while.
I have a trip planned for back home next month and I was hoping to get some quality fishing time with the old man on the river I grew up fishing with him and his father. But no, some fucking asshole company has gone and ruined that for this year, and next, and who knows how long.
Seriously, do we put any regulations on these oil companies? Or do they just get a free pass as long as they're paying taxes and their stock is worth something? I'm so angry right now I'm almost in tears thinking of what my grandfather would say right about now. I'm pretty sure he'd be in Canada by now giving all hell to whoever is "running" this company.
I don't know what else to say, what do you guys think? Enbridge says they are confident that they'll be able to contain the oil before it hits Lake Michigan. They better hope they do or else a lot more people are going to be pissed.
On a useful note, I urge you to call 1-800-306-6837 if you are in the Battle Creek area and have time to help with the cleanup. I may help if possible when I come down next month. But for right now I'm going to write and email about 100 letters to this damned company explaining to them in as non-hateful way as I can the damage they have done.
I did hear about the oil spill today. It's a shame what happened to your fishing grounds. Hopefully its effects are minimal. I wouldn't blame it on the Canadians though. It's not the whole country's fault.
I am a Battle Creek native as well and used to fish with my dad along the kzoo river. Both of my parents work in businesses close to the river and have told me of the horrible smell. They live out in the Wattles Park area, a fair distance from the spill and they still get the smell. Horrible accident proceeded by a lack of accountability on the side of Enbridge Energy Partners.
Hah, my parents live in the Wattles Park area too, just down the road from the county park on wattles road.
Apparently they undercharged people in the Toronto area on their budget billing plan last year, so now they're sending out bills to customers making up for it. The bills typically range from $400 to $1300. At first they told everyone they owed it all at once, but quickly gave up that idea.
So no, they don't seem like the most competent bunch.
if a product is marked for the wrong price, many states have laws stating that you get it for the cheaper, mismarked price. Should be the same for billed items.
If this were the US, I'd expect the customers to tell the company to go screw themselves.
drkboarder, haven't talked to you in ages. I'm in BC at the moment man, haven't smelled it yet tho. You need a ride home from school?.. haha
Vinod?
whats up man! yeah its me. Its funny, i felt like all we used to do was talk about michigan football on the rides home. Good times man. U going back for any games?
Hah what the hell is up. Yeah, I'm hoping to go back for the MSU game.
i'm from that area as well. that it horrible to hear.
That is really bad news about the oilspill, your fishing is probably ruined for a long time, not to mention what else is impacted by the spill.There was also a boat hit a capped off well offshore of New Orleans a day or two ago, broke the cap and there was another leak. I used to vacation around Gulf Shores, Destin area, it will probably never be the same in my lifetime.
First and foremost, Enbridge has a history of citations and violations. They will probably get hit pretty hard here.
With that said, the Civil Engineer in me almost empathizes with Enbridge. This pipeline was 40 years old. Guess what? Old pipes fail. Sewer pipes fail. Water supply pipes fail. Natural gas pipes fail. And gasoline/oil pipes fail. I've either worked on or have personally seen all of these scenerios.
Unfortunately, replacing subsurface pipe is costly and predicting points of failure is darn near impossible and so the general practice is that the pipeline isn't replaced until a part of it fails. It just so happens that this particular pipe failed in a terrible location.
I would not be surprised if Embridge complied with the state's existing requirements. They probably had a spill prevention plan in place and they probably performed routine inspections and maintenance as needed. They did what was expected of them. Obviously, that wasn't enough. If you want to be pissed at someone, I think the state and federal government is as much to blame as anyone. Companies aren't going to do more than what is required of them. There should be more stringent construction standards and rules in place for replacement of aging infrastructure. It's unfortunate that this had to happen for that point to become clear.
Thanks for the 800 number. Seems like the kzoo river will never catch a break, between the raw sewage overflows and now this oil spill. The hits just keep on coming.
I think the only way to truly stop things like this is to hold corporations responsible, and not with money. Whoever is on the board needs to go to jail for a very long time.
This is a bit overboard, as a poster above has noted, they may well be following all the rules that they have to. All things eventually fail, so an old pipe that fails should not equal a prison sentance for someone. Should the rules and regulations be re-examined, sure, should we look at a different route for that pipe in the future so it isn't so close to the creek, sure. Lots of things we could change to help prevent some future spill, but in this case lets just get it cleaned up first.
Rivers are our lifeblood. I lived and fished those same waters- caught smallmouth bass, northern pike and a host of panfish. My father and I floated the K'zoo countless times - it's an underutilized gem - the riffles from 11 Mile down, the Ceresco Dam, the stretches below Rice and Bear Creeks.
Sickening is the only word that fits. As if the paper mills in Kalamazoo and Plainwell and their filthy, noxious chemicals weren't enough, we have this. This watershed can't take this kind of abuse.
I'm also from BC and am sad to hear this has happened. On another note, this further reinforces my feelings on never moving back there.
Wonder if the The president will stop by. I am thinking no on this one.
I grew up just north of BC and now own a business there. The Kzoo river is one of the most beautiful things about the city, and it is often abused. I heard of the oil spill on Monday and then on my way to work on Tuesday you could smell the oil stench for miles and miles. You could smell it from the I-69 /I -94 corridor all the way west to Augusta and north to the M-66/M-78 corridor. It is horrible. Even today after working on it you could smell the stench as I crossed over the river by Historic Bridge Park. It is just sad to see things like this happen.
I am not sure that there was really anything that could have been done routinely to prevent such of disaster. From talking with my engineering buddies, the cost to constantly replace pipe along this line would prevent the company from ever making a dime. It is just one of those things that you never know when it will fail and when it does you hope for the least possible damage. Much like was said above, you replace it when it is broken.....it is by no means cost effective to replace it randomly. All things fail with time, just a shame that it happened where it did.
Being an avid outdoorsman I feel horible whenever I hear something like this. It is a terrible thing for nature lovers and the environment in general. I feel bad for anyone who this impacts (OP included).
Being a Canadian I have to say I take offense to the OP pissing on Canadians for this. This is a companies problem, I nor millions of other Canadians had anything to do with it. Screw you OP.
Where did I say all Canadians?
And I'm still pissed about the Hockey gold medal match :p
All this engineering fluff about it not being economically feasible to replace piping has got me feeling like maybe the company shouldn't bother being in business if they can't come up with a business plan to prevent oil spills.
Oh, we just ruined a watershed that flows to Lake Michigan. Big whoop, we'll continue with our plan of only replacing piping when it fails because we can't afford it otherwise. Durpity durr.
Fuck that bullshit. I'd rather have a higher cost per barrel than to keep pissing on our earth the way we are.
And yes, I'm also mad at the state and federal governments for being the bastards that they are.
I agree that there needs to be "maintenance" of some sort to limit the possibilities of this happening again. Maybe like placing an expiration date on the pipe itself. We know it is going to fail and it should have been replaced before it failed, but to over do the replacement at no concern for the costs associated with it is irresponsible. If we know that the pipes typically last 40 years then they need to be replaced every 30-35 years......makes sense to me. Yet is this something that the company needs to be responsible in determining or is it something that the gov't needs to mandate? Both sides will have agendas. I think this example puts it in perspective: How many of us have our car brakes worked on before the begin to squeel? Not many. By the time they begin to squeel the damage has already started and could cost someone their life.
I don't think that this is excusable by any means, but what is the industry standard for something like this? Accidents do happen and not all of them can be prevented. I don't like the fact that this watershed will forever be changed. I have been one of many to volunteer to help with the wildlife efforts in the area, and so far we have been turned away because of the levels of pollutants in the air. Hopefully things will clear soon so the major work can get underway.
How many of us have our car brakes worked on before the begin to squeel? Not many. By the time they begin to squeel the damage has already started and could cost someone their life.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brake_pad
The brake pads must usually be replaced regularly (depending on pad material), and most are equipped with a method of alerting the driver when this needs to take place. Some have a thin piece of soft metal that causes the brakes to squeal when the pads are too thin, while others have a soft metal tab embedded in the pad material that closes an electric circuit and lights a warning light when the brake pad gets thin. More expensive cars may use an electronic sensor.
The real problem is that this happened in 2002 to the same company with a pipeline in Minnesota. It was agreed that changes were needed, but 8 years later no agreement has been reached on what those changes are. I'd much rather in the aftermath of this there be a legitimate discussion of how to prevent future leaks, as opposed to an effort to seek revenge against the company and their executives.
I saw some photos from someone in Kalamazoo, with wildlife like geese and turtles covered in oil.
It made me realise that even though I find it upsetting to think about pelicans and sea turtles and the rare gulf coast walrus (har) covered in oil, there is something abstract about it (at least for me). It's less real when the animals are "exotic" to me. It emphasizes how far away the gulf (or Prince William Sound, say) is.
But when it's in your backyard, it's an even bigger jolt. I feel sheepish about feeling that way, but those photos really hit me hard.