Posts by Eartha Jane Melzer

More than a year ago an assessment of Enbridge’s 6B Michigan pipeline revealed corrosion on the line but as recently as this month the company was still negotiating with regulators for more time to fix the problem.
These facts were revealed this week in a Corrective Action Order issued by the U.S. Dept. of Transportation’s Pipeline [...]

Michigan officials have been quick to file lawsuits to stop invasive carp from reaching Lake Michigan so they should be ready to take action to get to the bottom of this week’s Enbridge oil spill, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley told reporters yesterday.
The Chicago Tribune reports that Daley said the million gallon oil spill that has [...]

Five days after a pipeline rupture in Marshall spilled around a million gallons of oil into a tributary of the Kalamazoo River, the company responsible has announced that the oil is around 12 percent contained.
Enbridge reported:

Speaking from Battle Creek yesterday where he was involved in coordinating the emergency response to an oil spill that has contaminated an estimated 35 miles of the Kalamazoo River, Enbridge CEO Pat Daniel told analysts that the company is on track to meet its financial goals despite $900,000 in cleanup costs this quarter for an [...]

James Blanchard, the Democratic governor of Michigan from 1983-1991 and U.S. ambassador to Canada under President Clinton has served on the board of directors for Enbridge since 1999.
Yesterday current governor Jennifer Granholm criticized Enbridge for failing to adequately respond to the oil pipeline rupture that spilled more than a million gallons of crude oil in [...]

Company and government officials have refused to give details on the inspection record for the section of oil pipeline that sprung a leak in Marshall, Michigan this week, spilling more than 800,000 gallons of crude oil into a tributary of the Kalamazoo River.

Many Secretaries of State around the county have taken oaths of non-partisanship and don’t endorse candidates out of concern that it could make them appear biased in their role as election administrator.
Michigan’s Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land has taken a different approach.

Justice Elizabeth Weaver’s independent run for reelection to her own seat on the Michigan Supreme Court could provoke attacks from both parties, but experts say her status as the incumbent gives her a large advantage over potential rivals on election day.

Film director Michael Moore has announced that he will use the expected $1 million dollar film tax credit from his Traverse City-based production Capitalism: A Love Story to develop a project that will revitalize Michigan towns by promoting non-profit movie theaters.
“We want to turn on the marquee lights, bring in some jobs, pump money into [...]

The first mine to be permitted under Michigan’s non-ferrous metallic mining law — the Kennecott Eagle Minerals Company nickel sulfide mine west of Marquette — continues to draw concerns and criticism.