Beth Wallacewallaceb@nwf.org

734.887.7134Great Lakes Regional Center, National Wildlife Federation

- Enbridge oil spill update, Kalamazoo River tar sands spill –

- Pipelines in the Great Lakes –- Pipelines Rules and Regulations -

- Proposed Pipelines -- Involvement and Recommendations –

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Kalamazoo River Watershed

July 15th, 2010 Congressional Committee Hearing regarding safety violations:

Enbridge officials testified that the company was able to detect a leak “almost instantaneously” after it occurred.

TimelineJuly 25th, 2010• 5:56 p.m. Officials at Enbridge Energy’s Edmonton, Alberta control center effect a shut

down of Lakehead Pipeline 6B. The shut down was previously scheduled for routine upkeep of the line. (NTSB, Schauer)

• 5:58 p.m. Officials at Enbridge Energy’s Edmonton, Alberta control center receive an alarm that pressure has dropped in line 6B. The Marshall pumping station goes into shut down. (NTSB, Schauer)

• 9:26 p.m. The first of what will become numerous phone calls comes into the Calhoun County Consolidated Dispatch Authority reporting a dense smell of natural gas. (911 logs, Schauer, NTSB)

• 9:27 p.m. City of Marshall firefighters are dispatched to investigate the gas smell. (911 logs) the call is cleared because they were unable to find a source

It is important to note that 911 calls continued through the night.

July 26, 2010• 4:04 a.m. Officials in the Edmonton, Alberta control room attempt to restart Lakehead

Pipeline 6B. The system will not start up, and technicians spent nearly the next four hours “troubleshooting” the problem. (NTSB)

• 4:26 a.m. Officials in Edmonton, Alberta call in mass balance analysts to assist with the start up. Officials increase the pressure in the line, as well as turn the line off and on “repeatedly.” (Schauer)

• 7:52 a.m. Officials in Edmonton, Alberta order the line shut down, and the trouble area of Marshall sealed off. That means they closed valves at either end of a three mile stretch of pipeline. (Schauer, NTSB, Enbridge officials)

• 9:49 a.m. Edmonton, Alberta control room officials dispatch an Enbridge employee to the pipeline. Employee reports “readings are at zero” and that he “doesn’t see anything.” (Schauer)

• 11:11 a.m. Calhoun County Consolidated Dispatch Authority initiates a response call about “entire downtown smells like natural gas” in the city of Marshall. City of Marshall firefighters dispatched. (911 logs)

• 11:16 a.m. Consumer’s Energy employee calls Enbridge to report visual confirmation of oil at the spill location. (Schauer, NTSB, Enbridge, EPA, county officials)

• 1:33 p.m. Enbridge officially reports the incident to the National Response Center. (NRC, NTSB, Enbridge)

17 hours after the alarms indicated an issue.

Source: Michigan Messenger, The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

Lakehead Pipeline 6b

The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

Enbridge Oil Spill Marshall, MI

July 25th, 2010

David Dodge

Peter Essick

Six primary agencies have responded to the emergency: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment (MDNRE) Michigan State Police Emergency Management Division Calhoun County Public Health Department Calhoun County Sheriff Kalamazoo County Sheriff

Supporting and assisting agencies:Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry Allegan County Emergency Management American Red Cross Augusta Police Department B&B Fire Safety Emergency Response Calhoun Conservation District Calhoun County Commissioners Calhoun County Drain Commission Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office Calhoun County Treasurers Office Calhoun Conservation District Calhoun Greenation District City of Battle Creek, Michigan City of Marshall, Michigan Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Fredonia Township Fire Department Huron Potawatomi Kalamazoo County Office of Emergency Management Kalamazoo Public Safety Kalamazoo County Health Department Kalamazoo Watershed Council Marshall Township Government and Fire Department Marshall Police Department Michigan Department of Community Health Michigan Occupational Safety & Health Administration Natural Resource Group Pipeline Hazardous Materials Safety Administration National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration U.S. Coast Guard U.S. Department of Transportation U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Occupational Safety & Health Administration

EPA's Operational Update Photos

EPA's Operational Update Photos

John Grap/The Enquirer

AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta

Kalamazoo Gazette / Jerry Campbell

David Coates / The Detroit News

John Grap/Battle Creek Enquirer/Associated Press

Wildlife

Photo: Todd Heywood

The community tries to take matters into their own hands…

AP Photo/Kalamazoo Gazette, Jonathon Gruenke

Keeping wildlife out of oil polluted areas…

Photo courtesy of EPA Region 5)

Current Status…

National Online Action alert: Enbridge Oil Spill in Michigan: http://www.nwf.org/Global-Warming/Policy-Solutions/Drilling-and-Mining/Tar-Sands/Michigan-Oil-Spill.aspx

Templates letters to send to the President, Secretary of State, Congressional Members or even local officials.

Start a community action coalition or group

Resources/Reports: •Tar Sands Pipeline Safety Risks •Assault on America: A Decade of Petroleum Company Disaster, Pollution, and Profit•The Riverwatch: Special Report on Oil & Gas•Dirty Business, Friends of the Earth

What Can I do?

Pipeline Safety LegislationPipeline Infrastructure and Community Protection Act of 2011 – HR2937

RECOMMENDATIONS

•Great Lakes states should regulate interstate pipelines and participate in the oversight and inspection in interstate pipelines.•The Great Lakes basin should, in its entirety, be considered a High Consequence Area and/or Unusually Sensitive Area, which would require more frequent inspections, requires a risk-based analysis for pipelines and at least some defects to be repaired under the Integrity Management Programs administered by PHMSA. •All Great Lakes states need to consider strong renewable energy standards similar to Iowa, which gets 21% of its energy from clean renewable sources. Michigan voters should vote, this November, for the improved renewable energy standard of 25% by 2025. This will protect Michigan’s natural heritage by reducing dependency on oil, coal and gas. •The state of Michigan and our federal agencies should deny all new oil pipelines and expansions of existing pipelines within the Great Lakes basin due to economic and environmental sensitive’s, especially with Line 5.

RECOMMENDATIONS

•Enbridge needs to develop additional response centers on either peninsula, which would hopefully create an immediate response time, rather than 3 hours from Escanaba and 5 hours from Bay City. •No pipelines transporting raw or upgraded tar sands should be approved for construction or expansion until the National Academy of Sciences has concluded a study on how transportation of these products impacts current pipelines. •In the wake of the Kalamazoo River spill, any pipeline operator transporting DilBit should be required to develop alternative response plans; taking into account the unique characteristics of the toxic heavy bitumen and the need for increased safeguards. •Our federal agencies should require that Enbridge pay for a thorough health study, around the Kalamazoo River release, on how a release of DilBit impacts wildlife and human health—short and long term. •PHMSA Integrity management programs need to be overhauled and there needs to be increased oversight during pipeline inspections and when reviewing emergency response plans. •Pipeline information, including response plans, should be publicly available and PHMSA should allow for public comment periods.