Recently the EPA denied Enbridge’s request to extend the deadline for dredging sections of the Kalamazoo River. The company is still trying to clean up the remaining tar sands crude oil in the Kalamazoo watershed from a pipeline break three years ago. As the tar sands industry grows, a pressing issue is finding ways to transport the crude oil to Midwest refineries.
Some are hoping to ship tar sands across the Great Lakes. But critics fear another disaster like the Kalamazoo spill.
Last week the Alliance for the Great Lakes released a report which indicates that there are gaps in the basin’s oil spill response and prevention methods. Lyman Welch, the report’s author and the water quality program director at the Alliance for the Great Lakes, says one of the biggest concerns is that tar sands crude oil is extremely difficult to clean up.
Report: Great Lakes ill-equipped to ship tar sands safely by Great Lakes Echo