密歇根新闻广播 密歇根一河流受到油污染获750万美元治理

 

Today, the state of Michigan announced a settlement with Enbridge Energy over the largest inland oil spill in American history.

The state's $75 million consent judgment¹ with Enbridge won't be coming as a huge cash payment. Most of the money has already gone to, or will be going to river restoration or recreation projects along the Kalamazoo River.

The state will receive a $5 million dollar "mitigation payment" as part of the settlement.

You can read the consent judgment here.

Here's how the $75 million settlement with Enbridge breaks down:

Money already spent by Enbridge:

$18 million spent by Enbridge to remove the Ceresco Dam and restore the historical flow to that part of the river.

$10 million spent to construct and improve recreational and boating access sites for the public at five locations and provide an endowment for perpetual maintenance of these sites.

$12 million paid in reimbursement³ of the state's costs in conducting and overseeing cleanup work, restoration and mitigation, and attorney's costs.

Money to be spent by Enbridge:

$5 million "mitigation payment" to the state for additional enhancement and restoration of the Kalamazoo River, to be paid within 30 days of the entry of the agreement.

$30 million as estimated costs for Enbridge to restore or construct 300 acres of wetlands in the watershed⁵ for permanent protection.

This settlement with Michigan closes another chapter in the long story of the 2010 Kalamazoo River oil spill.

It's been almost five years since Line 6B ruptured⁶ near Marshall and polluted Talmadge Creek⁷ and 38 miles of the Kalamazoo River with heavy crude oil from the Alberta tar⁸ sands region.

Jim Hensley says he was here in Marshall, at his favorite fishing spot, the night the pipeline⁹ ruptured on July 25, 2010.

Watch below as he explains what he saw:

Hensley got back out on the river a couple days after it was reopened to the public in 2012. He says the river is getting better.

"It took a little bit to start hearing the frogs," Hensley says. "Birds - they're all back, frogs are back, the turtles are back."

Time and work

It's taken a ton of work to get this river where it is now, and it hasn't been cheap.

Enbridge says it's paying $1.21 billion in cleanup and settlement costs. That figure includes the state's settlement filed yesterday afternoon in Calhoun County Circuit Court.

"Now that we have reached a settlement with the state it comes after four plus years of hard work and dedication¹⁰ by Enbridge and all the responding agencies," says Enbridge spokesperson Jason Manshum.

But the work is not quite done. Most of the oil has been cleaned up, and a lot of restoration work is completed, but there's still some oil that will be left behind.

State officials say they're confident the oil left behind is minimal¹¹. They say they'll oversee⁴ monitoring of these spots to find out whether there are any long-term health concerns associated with leaving this oil behind, and they're confident the spots where the oil is found is in places people won't see.

A trip down the river

We took a canoe trip on the Kalamazoo last week to see how things are looking.

"We do know there's oil that's left in the system, in the banks in some spots, it's left in the sediment¹² in the bottom of the river," says Ducharme. "It's a little bit of oil, it truly is residual¹³, but it's understanding because we can't recover that oil, is it going to present a problem long term?"

Ducharme stopped next to a wetland with a stream running through it. He stirs the sediment with his paddle and a little oil sheen rises up.

"This is one of the areas where there's probably more oil here than just about any area up and down the river system," he says.

Ducharme says this is a unique wetland area, and they didn't want to destroy the wetland to remove the oil, so they decided¹⁴ to leave it.

Under the settlement, Enbridge will have to monitor sites like this, and the state can make them go back in and remove more oil later on.

As we mentioned above, the settlement includes $18 million Enbridge spent to take out Ceresco Dam and restore that part of the Kalamazoo River to a more natural state.

This time lapse¹⁵ video shows that stretch of river as it is now:

The settlement also includes money for parks and boating access; money to reimburse² the state for its cleanup costs; and $30 million dollars to restore wetlands.

"I think people hear $75 million and think that should be cash to the state. We really were focused on having the investment Enbridge is making go into the river."

So is this a good deal for the state?

Noah Hall, an expert in environmental and water law with Wayne State University, says the answer to that question depends a lot on how you look at things.

"On one hand, Enbridge is being asked to pay very little in terms of additional penalties above and beyond the damage they caused. On the other hand, because Enbridge's oil spill contaminated the Kalamazoo River, they've already had to pay far more than would be typical after an oil spill to remediate the public resource."

Hall says state regulators typically aren't in the business of punishing companies when enforcing their environmental laws. These types of settlements, he says, are much more about cleaning up and improving upon a public resource that was damaged.

"I think the state would phrase this is as giving Enbridge the opportunity to clean up and leave it a little better than they found it," Hall says. "But this does not seem to be penalizing¹⁶ Enbridge."

Enbridge is still negotiating settlements with the Environmental Protection Agency, and with federal, state, and tribal¹⁷ representatives for damages it caused to natural resources in the state.

Hall expects the company will get hit with heavy payments in these upcoming settlements.

1 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

2 reimburse   

v.补偿，付还

参考例句：

• We'll reimburse you for your travelling expenses.我们将付还你旅费。
• The funds are supposed to reimburse policyholders in the event of insurer failure.这项基金将在保险公司不能偿付的情况下对投保人进行赔付。

3 reimbursement   

n.偿还，退还

参考例句：

• He received reimbursement for his travel expenses.由于出差的花费他可以得到公司的补偿。
• Which forms do I need to complete for my travel reimbursement?我需要填什么表来报我的旅费？

4 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。

5 watershed   

n.转折点，分水岭，分界线

参考例句：

• Our marriage was at a watershed.我们的婚姻到了一个转折关头。
• It forms the watershed between the two rivers.它成了两条河流的分水岭。

6 ruptured   

v.（使）破裂( rupture的过去式和过去分词 )；（使体内组织等）断裂；使（友好关系）破裂；使绝交

参考例句：

• They reported that the pipeline had ruptured. 他们报告说管道已经破裂了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The wall through Berlin was finally ruptured, prefiguring the reunification of Germany. 柏林墙终于倒塌了，预示着德国的重新统一。 来自辞典例句

7 creek   

n.小溪，小河，小湾

参考例句：

• He sprang through the creek.他跳过小河。
• People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人们在露出小溪的岩石上裸体晒日光浴。

8 tar   

n.柏油，焦油；vt.涂或浇柏油/焦油于

参考例句：

• The roof was covered with tar.屋顶涂抹了一层沥青。
• We use tar to make roads.我们用沥青铺路。

9 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

10 dedication   

n.奉献，献身，致力，题献，献辞

参考例句：

• We admire her courage,compassion and dedication.我们钦佩她的勇气、爱心和奉献精神。
• Her dedication to her work was admirable.她对工作的奉献精神可钦可佩。

11 minimal   

adj.尽可能少的，最小的

参考例句：

• They referred to this kind of art as minimal art.他们把这种艺术叫微型艺术。
• I stayed with friends, so my expenses were minimal.我住在朋友家，所以我的花费很小。

12 sediment   

n.沉淀，沉渣，沉积(物)

参考例句：

• The sediment settled and the water was clear.杂质沉淀后，水变清了。
• Sediment begins to choke the channel's opening.沉积物开始淤塞河道口。

13 residual   

adj.复播复映追加时间；存留下来的，剩余的

参考例句：

• There are still a few residual problems with the computer program.电脑程序还有一些残留问题。
• The resulting residual chromatism is known as secondary spectrum.所得到的剩余色差叫做二次光谱。

14 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

15 lapse   

n.过失，流逝，失效，抛弃信仰，间隔；vi.堕落，停止，失效，流逝；vt.使失效

参考例句：

• The incident was being seen as a serious security lapse.这一事故被看作是一次严重的安全疏忽。
• I had a lapse of memory.我记错了。

16 penalizing   

对…予以惩罚( penalize的现在分词 )； 使处于不利地位

参考例句：

• This is more than just penalizing a company that you are mad at. 她说：这将远远超过惩罚一个你感到不满的公司。

17 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。