Laws Not Adequately Protecting Great Lakes from Spills

May 16, 2012

Nearly two years after one of the worst oil spills in Midwest history, a legal study by the National Wildlife Federation, USA, reveals that laws governing oil pipelines do not adequately protect the Great Lakes and its communities from oil pollution and that states have not passed their own laws to fill in the gaps.

Pipeline spills in the Midwest are not an anomaly: they occur frequently and result in significant damage. The Great Lakes states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin contain 26,972 miles of hazardous liquid pipelines, according to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. There were 277 hazardous liquid pipeline accidents in the region between 2007 and 2011, which spilled more than 3.8 million gallons of these liquids into the environment, resulting in more than USD893 million dollars of property damage, according to the agency.

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EPA makes $29 million available for clean diesel projects

May 15, 2012

As much as $29 million is available from federal and state grants to implement clean diesel projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions from marine vessels, trucks, buses and trains, according to a recent announcement by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
 
The EPA says that $20 million is available in grants under the Diesel Emission Reduction Program (DERA) in FY 2012 grants and another approximately $9 million will be available through direct state allocations. EPA estimates that for every $1 spent on clean diesel funding up to $13 of public health benefit is realized.

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Environmental groups question Pete Hoekstra on drilling

May 16, 2012

LANSING, Mich. — Environmental groups say Republican U.S. Senate candidate Pete Hoekstra is changing his position on Great Lakes drilling.

Although the former Holland congressman voted in 2005 for a federal ban on Great Lakes drilling, he said during a recent campaign appearance that he'd support drilling under the lakes from shore.

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Cuba drilling continues as US groups press spill response need

WASHINGTON, DC, May 11, Repsol SA continues drilling Cuba’s first offshore oil well as some US government agencies, oil and gas organizations, and environmental groups press to ease restrictions that would keep US companies from responding if the well blows out and sets off a spill, experts at a Center for International Policy seminar said. They reported some progress as more federal officials become aware of the problem, but indicated that much more needs to be done.
 
“No one is predicting a catastrophe,” emphasized William K. Reilly, co-chairman of the presidential commission that investigated the 2010 Macondo deepwater well incident and oil spill. He said Cuba and Repsol are moving more slowly than normal to keep matters under control, but the US still has not taken the final necessary steps to let US companies respond if the well blows out and begins to leak crude.

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