Schauer announces pipeline meeting in Marshall

Congressman Mark Schauer (D-Bedford Township), who has been a fiery critic of Enbridge Energy Partners, has announced he and other members of Congress will hold a community meeting Aug. 26 at 7:30 p.m. at Marshall Middle School.

This will be the fourth public meeting since an estimated one million gallons of Cold Lake Crude oil spewed into the Kalamazoo River and a tributary, Talmadge Creek on or about July 25. The three other meetings have been briefings by government officials about the spill and its clean up. But the meeting Schauer is hosting is for individuals to air their concerns.

Among those participating are US DOT Deputy Secretary John D. Porcari, members of Congress whose districts fall along Line 6B, local elected officials, community stakeholders, and representatives from the EPA, PHMSA, NTSB, and U.S. DOT.

“Community members affected by the Enbridge spill have had many opportunities to hear updates from the oil company and the EPA, but this meeting will give them a forum to speak directly to decision makers working on this particular incident as well as those working with the pipeline industry as a whole,” said Schauer in a press release. “I want to make sure every possible safety precaution is taken and the voices of the people who live along the pipeline are heard before Enbridge is allowed to begin pumping oil through this damaged pipeline.”

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will hold a hearing on the spill on September 15 in Washington, DC. The Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials, which oversees the nation’s network of oil and gas pipelines and which Schauer is a member of, has already begun its investigation into the incident.