Marine Pollution Control8631 West Jefferson Avenue
Detroit, MI 48209 USA
313.849.2333 - 24/hour
11320 E Lakewood Blvd., #11
Holland, MI 49424
800-521-8232 – 24/Hour
GSA Contract #: GS-10F-0268R
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An unstoppable oil leak is flowing in Alberta
July 26, 2013
As if ruptured pipelines, train explosions and drilling rig fires weren't enough ways for oil to damage the environment, oil companies are now creating new types of disasters.
For at least six weeks, thousands of barrels of tar sands oil have been bubbling up into the forest in Cold Lake, Alberta and neither the oil company or government scientists know how to stop the flow.
Environmental groups: Proposed cuts pose major threat to Great Lakes
July 24, 2013
Proposed funding cuts to the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative introduced this week represent the greatest threat yet to the 4-year-old program, some environmental groups charged Tuesday.
And a failure to restore funding levels could mean the loss of a host of programs that have benefited the Great Lakes region, they added.
On Monday, a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee introduced a bill that would reduce 2014 spending on the Great Lakes initiative from an expected $285 million to $60 million. In addition, the bill proposes a more than 80 percent cut in the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, which helps communities upgrade sewer systems. If passed, the bill would drop support for the fund from $1 billion to $250 million next year.
U.S. system for flagging hazardous chemicals is widely flawed
July 8, 2013
(Reuters) - A 27-year-old U.S. program intended to warn the public of the presence of hazardous chemicals is flawed in many states due to scant oversight and lax reporting by plant owners, a Reuters examination finds.
Under the federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, private and public facilities must issue an inventory listing potentially hazardous chemicals stored on their properties. The inventory, known as a Tier II report, is filled with state, county and local emergency-management officials. The information is then supposed to be made publicly available, to help first responders and nearby residents plan for emergencies.
But facilities across the country often misidentify these chemicals or their location, and sometimes fail to report the existence of the substances altogether.
And except for a handful of states, neither federal nor local authorities are auditing the reports for errors.
U.S. fines European shipping firms for pollution, falsifying records
July 24, 2013
NEWARK, New Jersey (Reuters) - Two European shipping firms were ordered on Tuesday to pay a $10.4 million penalty and given four years probation for illegally dumping oil-tainted bilge water as well as falsifying records.
The firms - Columbia Shipmanagement GmbH of Germany and Columbia Shipmanagement Ltd of Cyprus - admitted to illegal activity on three oil tankers and one container ship, including bypassing the use of required pollution prevention equipment.
WATER POLLUTION: Why is EPA taking so long to write a stormwater rule? It's complicated.
July 8, 2013
Grand Rapids, Mich., is placing a bet that restoring the white water that gave the city its name will make it a destination for kayakers and other outdoors enthusiasts.
Michigan's second-largest city is planning to remove or modify dams on the Grand River before redeveloping the waterfront with high-end retail and luxury apartments.
Making the river pretty is one thing, but making it clean is another. The Grand River -- one of 11 in U.S. EPA's Urban Rivers Restoration Initiative -- is polluted by stormwater. The river accounts for some of the estimated 50,000 miles of rivers and streams fouled by bacteria and other contaminants washed off streets, parking lots, lawns and farms.