In the last two years, Enbridge has cut nearly in half its estimate of the likely size of an oil spill from a pair of aging pipelines that move nearly 23 million gallons of oil a day through the Mackinac Straits, while independent studies suggest the risk is much greater and growing. Read the full… Read more »
On Monday May 2, 2016, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that state laws regulating the oil and gas industry trump local bans and moratoriums on fracking. Colorado has become a leader in oil and gas production with more than 50,000 actives wells and more than 45,000 inactive wells. The high court overturned Longmont’s 2012 ban on fracking… Read more »
Ross Biederman, owner of Midwest Broadcasting, issued a broadcast and print editorial today urging our political leaders and those running for office to help shut down the flow of crude oil through Line 5 in the Straits. Biederman warns it is too dangerous, the harm too devastating, and the risk too high to continue operating… Read more »
A new animated video by the University of Michigan and the National Wildlife Federation shows how devastating an oil spill beneath the Straits of Mackinac would be for the Great Lakes, wildlife, and communities. The animation shows that if an oil spill occurs, oil could reach popular tourist destinations like Mackinac Island, blanket 50 miles… Read more »
By Meredith Murray, FLOW intern What are regulatory agencies doing to fix the problem? Currently, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is conducting an investigation over the steps taken to address Flint’s drinking water issues following State Representative Dan Kildee (D-Flint) and State Minority Leader Jim Ananich’s (D-Flint) written requests. Along with the EPA investigation,… Read more »
FLOW filed formal comments with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources this week on the importance of strict review of a number of Wisconsin towns outside the Great Lakes basin that want permission to divert water from Lake Michigan to replace contaminated water supplies for one town, but foster growth and development for the others. … Read more »
As Long as Oil Flows through the Straits Pipelines, the Great Lakes Remain at Unacceptable Risk
LOS ANGELES — A Texas company whose ruptured pipeline created the largest coastal oil spill in California in 25 years had assured the government that a break in the line, while possible, was “extremely unlikely” and that state-of-the-art monitoring could quickly detect possible leaks and alert operators, documents show. See the full New York Times… Read more »
An alarming piece of legislation was introduced last week by Rep. Heise and is quickly being moved to committee Thursday, May 14th. It would exempt oil & gas companies like Enbridge from disclosing pipeline and energy-related information under Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). We need more information on critical pipelines like Line 5, not less!… Read more »
When: Wednesday, April 22, 2015 “Green Drinks” at 5:30 p.m., Lecture at 7 p.m. Where: Tifft Nature Preserve’s new auditorium, Buffalo, NY What: A lecture with national expert Jim Olson, President and founder of FLOW (For Love of Water)—a national organization dedicated to advancing public trust solutions to save the waters of the Great Lakes. There will… Read more »
