A Houston-based petroleum transport company has withdrawn their request for a permit to transport oil through aging pipelines under the St. Clair River.
Debbie Dingell and Candice Miller, Michigan members of the U.S. House of Representatives, issued a joint statement on Wednesday after receiving notice that Plains LPG Service LP had withdrawn its request to the State Department for a federal permit allowing the transport of oil through aging pipelines under the St. Clair River.
“We are thrilled to hear that Plains LPG has decided to withdraw its request to the State Department for a permit to transport oil through a pair of 98-year-old pipelines under the St. Clair River,” Dingell and Miller stated.
“As we’ve said, given the strong currents in the St. Clair, any spill would quickly spread and have a devastating impact on the entire region, which is why we petitioned the State Department to extend the public comment period so that more stakeholders could weigh in.”
“As a result of this extension and increased transparency, the State Department received nearly 700 additional comments pointing out that too little is known about the construction and current condition of the pipelines for anyone to be confident that they can safely transport oil,” Dingell and Candice Miller stated.
“Fortunately, by withdrawing their request, Plains LPG has put to rest the valid concerns over shipping crude oil through these pipes.”
A notice by the State Department on the U.S. Federal Registry website stated that Plains LPG had withdrawn their request.
“Plains LPG subsequently notified the Department that it no longer seeks reconsideration of the scope of the authorizations referenced in the Notice,” the State Department said. “The Department is therefore no longer considering whether to issue a new permit for the two St. Clair pipelines.”
The Sydenham Current has yet to hear back from Plains LPG for comment.
Plains LPG Services told the Sydenham Current via e-mail that they had no plans to ship crude oil into Canada through a 98-year-old pipeline under the St. Clair River.
“Plains LPG Services (Plains LPG) submitted an application for a U.S. Department of State Presidential Permit in 2012 to update the legal change of ownership of six pipelines that cross the U.S./Canada border and St. Clair River between Sarnia, Ontario and St. Clair, Michigan,” Plains LPG Services officials stated.
“Two of these pipelines are in service and were built in 1971 and 1973, respectively. Contrary to previous media reports, both of these pipelines transport liquid petroleum gases (LPG) such as butane and propane. These pipelines have never transported crude oil, and Plains LPG has no intention to transport crude oil on these lines.”
Company officials said four of the pipelines are inactive and have been taken out of service.
“Including the two pipelines that were constructed in 1918,” Plains LPG Services officials stated. “Plains has no business plan to change the nature of the pipeline’s operation.”
After the Detroit Free Press published an article in February, many environmental groups expressed their concern about the issue – including Wallaceburg’s WATCH group.
“It was one of those that you really had to know where to go to know that the application was there,” Kris Lee, chair of WATCH, told the Sydenham Current on March 1.
“That is not proper consultation. When you have proper consultation, you have to go to the area where the stakeholders are… that’s in the St. Clair River area.”
Lee said Plains LPG did not do a good job at informing the public about their plans.
“In order for this company to be really ethical in their practices, they should have contacted the newspapers in this area, well in advance,” she said.
“They could have found the environmental groups, they could have very well contacted the Binational Public Advisory Council to let us know this application was coming. The fact that they went, with what I would call minimal compliance, is not ethical. It may be meeting the law, but it is not ethical.”
We’ll provide more information when it becomes available.
