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LaGrand insists that another disaster be prevented following Thursday’s Illinois oil spill
Posted on September 12, 2010
GRAND RAPIDS – State Senate candidate David LaGrand wants to crack down on corporate polluters like Enbridge from recklessly ruining Michigan waters by holding the parties responsible accountable for cleanup costs and eliminating drilling in the Great Lakes. On the heels of yet another Enbridge Oil spill in Illinois Thursday – after the one in Marshall, Michigan in July- LaGrand believes now is the time to act.
“We have already seen firsthand the dangers an oil spill poses to Michigan waters with the Enbridge spill near the Kalamazoo River that threatened to reach Lake Michigan, and Thursday’s spill was only 30 miles from Chicago’s shore,” LaGrand said. “Countless West Michigan livelihoods hinge on our waters. It’s time for the politicians in Lansing to stand up to special interests and take every action possible to protect our waters and prevent another oil disaster from ever happening in Michigan again.”
Enbridge pipelines sprung at least a dozen leaks since 2003, threatening Michigan waters. In 2010, there were 329 defects detected along the same pipeline that gushed an estimated 1 million gallons of oil into the Kalamazoo River in July. Enbridge has been given repeated warnings from the federal government about the quality of its pipelines, and has previously been cited for other safety and environmental violations in Michigan. However Enbridge is taking two-and-a-half years to “consider” making necessary repairs or replacing the pipe.
Enbridge has had a number of spills across the country as well. Earlier this year, a spill in North Dakota spewed 126,000 gallons of oil. There were two major spills in Wisconsin in 2007, and Enbridge was recently fined $2.4 million in relation to a pipeline explosion and fire that killed two workers in Minnesota in 2007. Enbridge has taken little corrective action since this slew of spills across the country. Companies like this must be held accountable for their polluting mistakes, and must be required to cover all costs associated with oil spills and other workplace accidents that could have been prevented.
LaGrand supports a plan to permanently ban drilling in the Great Lakes and hold corporate polluters—and not Michigan taxpayers—accountable for all cleanup costs and damages. He continues to support renewable energy in Michigan to create jobs and decrease dependence on fossil fuels to protect our land, air and water.
For more information on David LaGrand, visit www.DavidLaGrand.com/.
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