Ecology Center

According to Jeff Surfus of Clean Water Action, the Michigan Strategic Fund Board recently approved the issuance of $35 million worth of tax exempt bonds to Waste Management of Michigan. The authorizing resolution for these bonds states that Waste Management will receive these bonds for the purpose of expanding landfills in Macomb, Leelanau, Wayne, Crawford, Clare, and Ottawa counties.

Waste Management is the largest disposal firm in the world and one of the largest corporations in the nation. Surfus argues that the corporation operates as "an autonomous agency under the Department of Management and Budget so they can create more landfill space, bring in more-out-of-state waste, and make more profit, all at the expense of Michigan Citizens, both financially and environmentally."

Waste Management reports that its 2nd quarter earnings for 2001 to be $2.93 billion. They also report that they have 284 active landfill disposal sites throughout North America.

Report Shows Human Health at Risk from Directional Drilling Along Lake Michigan

Dana Schindler, Filer Township supervisor, has compiled a report that documents 44 accidental and intentional releases from oil and gas sites and processing facilities in a 30 mile stretch along Lake Michigan since 1980. According to the Michigan Environmental Council (MEC) a number of these releases resulted in severe health problems and hospital treatment.

The report provides substantial public health concerns that now call into question the proposal under consideration by state officials to renew oil and gas drilling under the Great Lakes. The information contained in the report directly contradicts the denials by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) that the public has been harmed by hydrogen sulfide (H2s) releases.

Recent research reported by Dr. Kaye Kilburn, MD, Professor of Medicine, University of Southern California, states that H2S is dangerous at extremely low levels of concentration. According to the report "H2S poisons the brain, and contrary to state and industry statements, the damage is irreversible." Kilburn is also quoted as saying that H2S is dangerous anytime you can smell it, that "…neighborhoods near…sites where H2S is released deliberately or inadvertently are unsafe. The report also states that the DEQ and other state agencies have generally ignored the plight of victims and are not acting on the results of recent medical findings.

In response to the report, Lana Pollak, MEC President stated, "We urge the Natural Resources Commission and the Department of Environmental Quality to protect human health as well as the Great Lakes ecosystem by rejecting any further directional drilling under the Lakes."

To read the text of the complete report on the web go to: http://www.mecprotects.org/oilaccidents.pdf

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