I am writing today to announce the closure of the Michigan Messenger. After four years of operation in Michigan, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news into a single site, The American Independent at Americanindependent.com. This is part of a shift in strategy, towards new forms [...]
An abstinence-only presentation provided to numerous school districts in Calhoun and Eaton Counties in October of this year provided false and misleading information to students about HIV, experts allege.
Two county registers of deeds filed a class action lawsuit Monday on behalf of Michigan’s 83 counties alleging that the Mortgage Electronic Registration Services owes millions of dollars in property title transfer taxes.
Despite evidence of the impact of mercury on children and public health, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette last month joined with 24 other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to scuttle new EPA regulations that would reduce mercury emissions from power plants.
The federal agency responsible for oversight of the nation’s oil and gas pipelines has issued an advisory bulletin reminding pipeline operators that they need to make their emergency response plans available to local emergency response officials.
Such information sharing is necessary, the agency said, because many pipelines go through public areas.
People who live near the Kalamazoo River know this all too well, and the Enbridge oil pipeline spill which dumped a million gallons of Canadian crude into that river system highlighted the lack of plans for coordination with local emergency responders along the pipeline. Several local emergency response officials told Michigan Messenger that they were unaware of the pipelines in their areas.
In a notice published in the Federal Register late last month the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration Associate Administrator Jeffrey Weise said:
To ensure a prompt, effective, and coordinated response to any type of emergency involving a pipeline facility, pipeline operators are required to maintain an informed relationship with emergency responders in their jurisdiction.
PHMSA reminds pipeline operators of these requirements, and in particular, the need to share the operator’s emergency response plans with emergency responders. PHMSA recommends that operators provide such information to responders through the operator’s liaison and public awareness activities, including during joint emergency response drills.
He also said that PHMSA plans to evaluate how well operators have communicated about emergency plans during future inspections.
It’s unclear whether this advisory bulletin will have much impact.
According to The Washington Independent as of June, PHMSA had only 88 full-time inspectors to oversee the 2.3 million miles of pipelines in the United States.
According to PHMSA there are 2,879 miles of hazardous liquid pipeline in Michigan.
Do you know where to vote on Election Day? Do you know what to bring with you? Get comprehensive voter information for your state here.
Sign up for our email newsletter