There is a growing likelihood that Wisconsin land and water from Superior to the Illinois border will be in the spilling zone as more tar sand oil works its way from Canada beneath the Great Lakes
to refineries and ports on the Gulf of Mexico.
There are two signs suggesting a heightened transformation of Wisconsin from a state featuring family farms and milking operations to a state hosting larger oil pumping stations and greater fossil fuel movement:
1. A deal has been struck to upgrade a major Enbridge oil pipeline through construction of a new, multi-purpose utility corridor and tunnel beneath the Straits of Mackinac.
2. The surprise move last week which now looks related to item #1 wherein the Wisconsin Supreme Court agreed to consider whether Enbridge can be forced to obtain a level of insurance required to pipe oil through Dane County, and to force the company to disclose whether the policy is in force.
A Wisconsin Appeals Court had supported Dane County's insurance requirement - - and a finding in Minnesota that Enbridge lacked sufficient spill insurance there seems to validate Dane County's concerns.
Given Enbridge's calamitous environment record - - it's now a major investor in the spill-ridden Dakota Access project - - and the Wisconsin Supreme Court's conservative alignment with Walker's 'chamber of commerce mentality' governance and pro-polluter priorities, this all sounds pretty ominous.
Stay tuned.
to refineries and ports on the Gulf of Mexico.
There are two signs suggesting a heightened transformation of Wisconsin from a state featuring family farms and milking operations to a state hosting larger oil pumping stations and greater fossil fuel movement:
1. A deal has been struck to upgrade a major Enbridge oil pipeline through construction of a new, multi-purpose utility corridor and tunnel beneath the Straits of Mackinac.
2. The surprise move last week which now looks related to item #1 wherein the Wisconsin Supreme Court agreed to consider whether Enbridge can be forced to obtain a level of insurance required to pipe oil through Dane County, and to force the company to disclose whether the policy is in force.
A Wisconsin Appeals Court had supported Dane County's insurance requirement - - and a finding in Minnesota that Enbridge lacked sufficient spill insurance there seems to validate Dane County's concerns.
Given Enbridge's calamitous environment record - - it's now a major investor in the spill-ridden Dakota Access project - - and the Wisconsin Supreme Court's conservative alignment with Walker's 'chamber of commerce mentality' governance and pro-polluter priorities, this all sounds pretty ominous.
Stay tuned.
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