Environmental: November 2008 Archives

The San Clemente Neighborhood Association (CA) has filed an appeal in district court asking that a zone change allowing for the construction of a bulk fuel terminal be set aside.  Residents oppose the zoning change from Outland District to Heavy Industrial on three 10-acre parcels. Association president James Maag voiced concerns relating to traffic, emergency response time and pollution.  NewBulletin.com also reports:

The appeal goes on to say that legal counsel for the San Clemente Neighborhood Association was not notified of Plains' planned use of paid expert witnesses or the scope of their testimonies, thus the appellant was not aware of the potential need to hire its own  to provide counter-testimony nor did it have opportunity to prepare for rebuttal argument or cross-examination.

Opponents of Beeland Group, LLC (a subsidiary of CMS Energy), have filed a lawsuit in Michigan 13th Circuit Court to halt the injection well project in Alba.  Although the EPA and MDEQ approved a permit for Beeland to move forward with a test injection well at this site, Star Township, Antrim County, Friends of the Jordan River Watershed and mineral owners believe the project will "pollute, impair or destroy natural resources, including, but not limited to surface water and groundwater, oil, gas or other minerals and natural habitat.” In his affidavit, geology expert Dr. James McClurg states that the Bell Shale Formation is immediately above Dundee.  

“Not all shale formations are impermeable, and the permeability of the Bell Shale in the area of the injection site has not been definitely determined, therefore, it cannot be considered a ‘cap’ rock or seal. If the Bell Shale does not provide a tight ‘cap’ on the Dundee Formation, the CKD leachate will move up and escape into the Traverse Group, which is a porous and permeable formation, and possibly also the Antrim Shale.”

McClurg describes the Antrim Shale in his affidavit as a “highly fractured, porous and permeable gas producing shale.”

For more, see Petroskey News.

Opponents of Beeland Group, LLC (a subsidiary of CMS Energy), have filed a lawsuit in Michigan 13th Circuit Court to halt the injection well project in Alba.  Although the EPA and MDEQ approved a permit for Beeland to move forward with a test injection well at this site, Star Township, Antrim County, Friends of the Jordan River Watershed and mineral owners believe the project will "pollute, impair or destroy natural resources, including, but not limited to surface water and groundwater, oil, gas or other minerals and natural habitat.”  Beeland proposes to truck 135,000 gallons of leachate seepage a day (about 1 million gallons of seepage a week) for 10 years to a well located five miles east of Alba, treat it to reduce its pH from highly caustic levels and inject it to total depth of 2,450 feet beneath the ground.  Petroskey News reports:

According to the affidavit of Dr. James McClurg, a professor of geology and geophysics at the University of Wyoming — one of three expert witnesses for the plaintiffs’ case — it states that leachate seepage will be injected into the Lucas/Dundee Formation, which developed 354-391 million years ago, which he says is “both porous and permeable and filled with saline water which contains oil and natural gas in places.”

Martin Marietta Materials has applied for a conditional-use permit for an underground limestone mine and variances for storage of explosive materials on 480 acres of property in Anderson Township, Ohio.  A mining expert witness for Martin Marietta Materials said the company will take various measures to reduce noise and dust pollution created by the proposed mine.  Bob Rysinski, production manager for the Ohio district of Martin Marietta Materials, explained the process of extracting limestone from the mine.

By coating sorting screens and material transfer chutes in urethane, Rysinski said there would be a significant reduction in noise.  He said the plant would use a water spray during the crushing and sorting to control dust, as well as a wheel washing system to prevent trucks from transferring dust to public roads.

Tim Mara, a Cincinnati attorney who represents residents near the proposed mine site, challenged the validity of Rysinski's assessment because he could not provide empirical data.

For more see Cincinnati.com.