June 26, 2010
By U. S. Congressman Bart Stupak (D-Menominee)
WASHINGTON, D. C. — It is difficult to think of northern Michigan without also thinking about the Great Lakes. These waters are vital to our economy and are relied upon by 45 million people for drinking water, fishing, recreation, agriculture, industry and shipping.
That is why, in 2005, I fought to pass a federal ban on oil and gas drilling in and under our Great Lakes. As we are witnessing right now in the Gulf of Mexico, oil spills know no boundaries. Without a federal policy, all of the Great Lakes states could have different laws on drilling in our shared waters, putting us all at risk. As the tragedy in the Gulf unfolds, the importance of this ban on drilling in the Great Lakes takes on a greater significance.
In my investigations as chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, we have uncovered thousands of pages of documents showing BP was willing to cut corners on safety in order to save time and money — this despite the fact that BP’s own engineers described the well as a “nightmare well.”
This mismanagement has continued in BP’s response to contain the leak and clean up the spilled oil. The latest report estimates 35,000 to 65,000 barrels of oil are leaking into the Gulf daily — up to 12 times more than BP’s original estimate of 5,000 barrels a day. Even BP admits the earliest the spill will be stopped is August when drilling of relief wells is completed. In the meantime oil continues to flow, contaminating marshlands and beaches and killing the fish and seafood that much of the Gulf’s economy depends on.
While drilling for oil and gas is banned in the Great Lakes, other actions still threaten our waters. Mining has been done safely to the benefit of the Upper Peninsula economy for generations, but the sulfide mine proposed in Marquette County by the Kennecott Minerals Company raises concerns that have yet to be adequately addressed.
Both BP and Kennecott’s parent company, London-based Rio Tinto, have earned reputations for their willingness to cut corners on safety and environmental safeguards to improve their bottom lines.
BP reached an agreement with the President to set up an independent escrow fund to ensure the residents of the Gulf receive the claims they deserve in a timely manner. I remain concerned that Kennecott’s $17 million assurance bond does not provide nearly enough funding to address potential contamination that may continue years after Kennecott leaves the U.P. Like BP, Kennecott — not the taxpayers — should be responsible for the cost of cleaning up any pollution they create.
Unfortunately Michigan’s mining laws fall short of holding Kennecott accountable. State permits were approved without requiring an Environmental Impact Statement and without independent baseline hydrological and geological studies. Because there is no evidence of the environment’s condition before Kennecott starts mining, there is no way to prove what damage they cause.
We should heed the lessons we have learned from the Gulf spill. Weak state regulations in place for sulfide mining are worthless without proper enforcement. Given Michigan’s continuing budget problems, it seems unlikely the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment will have adequate resources to ensure Kennecott is complying with safety and environmental standards. Kennecott should be responsible for providing the state with the funding needed for these inspectors.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will announce by the end of the month whether federal permits are necessary for the mine to move forward. Kennecott deserves a timely answer from the EPA just as the people of Michigan deserve stronger safeguards and greater financial assurances from Kennecott.
Oil companies have been engaged in deepwater drilling for 30 years, yet they have been completely unprepared to handle a worst-case scenario. Sulfide mining has never been done — much less done safely — in our region. I have little confidence that the proper precautions and contingency plans are in place to prevent contamination of our streams, rivers and the Great Lakes. The financial protections put in place for taxpayers are symbolic at best. As we have seen in the Gulf spill, if we wait until a problem occurs to find a solution it is already too late.
In contrast, Jason Allen, a contender for Bat Stupak’s congressional seat, calls for reduced regulation of mining and forestry in Michigan.
By Eartha Jane Melzer 6/22/10
While many are calling for increased federal oversight of mines in the wake of the Massey mine disaster, and of industrial processes generally as BP’s oil rig continues to leak into the Gulf, Jason Allen — a major Republican contender for the congressional seat long held by Bart Stupak — is saying that he would use his seat to roll back federal environmental regulation.
Campaigning at a luncheon hosted by the Antrim County Republican Women in Elk Rapids on Monday Allen blamed both state and federal environmental regulation for Michigan’s high jobless rate.
He said that he would fight the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as well as state regulators to ensure that the nickel sulfide mine planned by Kennecott Eagle Minerals Company gets built on the Yellow Dog Plains west of Marquette.
This spring Kennecott declared that it did not need a federal water permit for the project and began construction of the mine without approval from the EPA.
The mine has Upper Peninsula groups including the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community are suing state agencies over the approval of permits for the project, arguing that it will harm the watershed with acid mine run off and damage cultural resources.
“Places like Baraga are running at 23-24 percent unemployment,” Allen said, “and we have to get those people back to work in the mines.”
“We will continue to fight the EPA and continue to fight what is going on with the [Michigan Dept. of Natural Resources and Environment] to get that mine licensed because that provides good solid jobs to get our people back to work and that is how we feed America.”
Allen also said that as a U.S. congressman he would fight to expand timber harvest on federal land.
“They are only harvesting about 18 or 15 percent of the entire available forest on federal lands,” he said. “We also will try to use federal lands for anything we can do as far as mining, timber harvesting, reducing regulation.”
Allen also vowed to reduce air quality regulation and support the development of new power plants.
“We are going to do everything in our power to get things like the Rogers city power plant built and stop the massive amount of regulation laid out by this current president and his current administration and we will continue to fight for those types of projects.” (It should be noted that no new environmental regulations have been passed since President Obama took office)
The Michigan Public Service Commission and the Department of Natural Resources and Environment recently rejected plans by Wolverine Power Cooperative to build a petroleum coke and coal fired power plant in Rogers City. The regulators said that the plant is not needed and that building it would increase the cost of electricity.
Allen is competing against five other Republicans for the party’s nomination in the August 3 primary.
The other candidates are: Dr. Dan Benishek of Crystal Falls, Linda Goldthorpe of Curtis, Don Hooper of Iron River, Tom Stillings of Torch Lake, and Patrick Donlon of St. Ignace.
Allen is seen as the front runner, and if he managed to beat Democrat State Rep. Gary McDowell and take the seat in the general election, there could be some significant changes in the way the first district is represented.
While Allen says he will fight EPA and state regulators to allow the Kennecott mine, Stupak has warned that the state did not thoroughly review the mine before issuing permits and that the state might not have sufficient resources to provide oversight for the mine.
“I am not opposed to mining. I remain very supportive of mining in the U.P. However, these permits represent the first time the state is allowing sulfide mining. State officials must take their time and make sure sulfide mining is safe. It is critical that comprehensive independent studies be completed before additional permits are issued. Once permitted, I am fearful as many as six additional sulfide mines will be allowed to operate on the shores of the Great Lakes, jeopardizing the world’s largest body of fresh water.”
“The Kennecott Company has yet to prove the sulfide mine will not degrade the community, watershed, air quality or ecology of the area,“ Stupak said. “I will continue to urge EPA and DNR to thoroughly review this proposed sulfide mine.”
Allen’s discussion of environmental issues contrasts with the approach taken by Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Snyder, who also spoke at the Antrim County Republican event.
A former trustee of the Nature Conservancy, Synder has said that as governor he will increase the resources available to state environmental regulators.
Synder said that Michigan must preserve its environment so that people will want to live here.
“I tell people I am a good green Republican. We need to work on getting people to look at environmental issues in a different context than they traditionally have,“ he said. “Too often people say there are environmental things and then there are economic things. I disagree with anyone who takes that position. In my view they are absolutely intertwined.”
“Quality of place” is essential to retaining and attracting young people, he said, “and a key part of quality of place is a thriving sustainable environment.”
“We as a party need to get our act together .”
BP Regulatory Issues: http://www.adn.com/2010/06/26/1342800/bp-helped-state-investigate-itself.html