FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONTACT:
Justin Onwenu
justin.onwenu@sierraclub.org
313-405-5900
Christy McGillivray
Christy.mcgillivray@sierraclub.org
808-726-5325
Sierra Club Applauds Efforts to Protect Great Lakes and Michigan Waterways from Dangerous Dock Collapses
Lansing, MI -- In November 2019, a heavily contaminated piece of land operated by Detroit Bulk Storage, collapsed into the Detroit River. The incident sparked outrage and concern among Metro Detroit residents and Canadians who depend on the Detroit River as a vital drinking water source. Today, Sen. Stephanie Chang (D-Detroit), Sen. Rosemary Bayer (D-Beverly Hills), and Sen. Erika Geiss (D-Taylor) re-introduced legislation to prevent similar incidents from occurring. The Sierra Club applauds their leadership and urges Michigan legislators to support these crucial efforts.
Senate Bill 122 would ensure that statewide risk assessments are conducted and facilitate greater public access to data regarding contaminated properties along major waterways. “Seeing headlines about uranium in the Detroit River does not inspire confidence, says Nicholas Leonard, Executive Director of the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center in Detroit, “We hope that this legislation will help local and state authorities take proactive steps to protect our waterways and we also hope it will give the public greater confidence and access to crucial information about contamination along our waterways.”
Senate Bill 123 would require inspections of commercial and industrial docks. “Our Great Lakes and Michigan waterways are special. We depend on them for fishing, tourism, recreation and so much more,” says Christy McGillivray, Legislative and Political Director for the Sierra Club Michigan Chapter “As a state, we need to take extra precautions to ensure that facilities operating along our waterways do not pose a risk to our waterways.”
One week after contaminated land collapsed into the Detroit River in November 2019, the Windsor Star, a Canadian newspaper, was the first to notify Michiganders of the incident. Senate Bill 124 would strengthen emergency notification procedures by requiring notification should a similar spill occur. “The Detroit River incident revealed a clear breakdown in our emergency notification procedures,'' says Justin Onwenu, a Detroit based Environmental Justice Organizer for the Sierra Club. “Michigan authorities and the public have a right to know when our Great Lakes and drinking water sources are threatened.”
