detroit river

Fighting Island in the Detroit River no longer a wasteland

Mark Brush — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 14:52:01 +0000

Earlier this week, I posted on the power of Google's "Earth Engine," an online tool that lets you fly back in time and space to see how land has changed.

Growing concerns over the impact of Detroit pet coke piles

Stateside Staff — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 21:09:26 +0000

That huge pile of petroleum coke lying alongside the Detroit River is triggering a growing sense of alarm.

You may recall, we spoke with New York Times journalist Ian Austen about the origins of this mountain of "pet coke" that's growing in Southwest Detroit. It's a byproduct of tar sands oil refining used in energy production. When mixed with coal, it can be used as a low-cost fuel.

The piles are being brought in by trucks from the Marathon Petroleum Refinery in southwest Detroit, and the pet coke is being stored by a company called Detroit Bulk Storage for the owner of the pet coke: Koch Carbon.

U.S. Congressmen John Conyers and Gary Peters and others have been voicing concern about the health and environmental risks of storing these piles of pet coke. We wanted to take a closer look at these concerns.

Nick Schroeck is a professor of law at Wayne State University in Detroit and the executive director of the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center, and he joined us today to discuss the issue.

Listen to the full interview above.

Watch Michigan change over time using Google's 'Earth Engine'

Mark Brush — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 20:58:25 +0000

My kids love using Google Earth. With the push of a button they "fly" from Ann Arbor, Michigan to Newfoundland, the Panama Canal, the Great Barrier Reef, or some other place they're curious about.

Now Google has mined satellite images from the U.S. government that allow us to fly back in time.

A three-story pile of pet coke next to Detroit River, where will it go?

Stateside Staff — Wed, 22 May 2013 19:24:13 +0000

An eyesore has grown on the Detroit skyline.

It's a three-story pile of black petroleum coke that could cover an entire city block and it's the by-product of oil sands bitumen drilling in Alberta, Canada.

The pile is most visible to Canadians in Windsor, Canada where the view of the pile isn't hidden by buildings.

Ian Austen is the "New York Times" Canada correspondent who wrote a story on pet coke last week.

State tests: Mounds of oil refinery byproduct safe

The Associated Press — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 19:35:00 +0000

DETROIT (AP) - Tests by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality have found that hulking black mounds along the banks of the Detroit River in southwest Detroit don't pose a threat to human health.

The petroleum coke, or pet coke, mounds are a byproduct of oil refining used in energy production. The material has been brought by trucks from the nearby Marathon Petroleum Co. refinery, and the mounds drew attention starting earlier this year.

The Detroit News reported the MDEQ's findings Friday.

Area residents, the Canadian government and U.S. lawmakers are among those concerned about potential pollution and health effects.

Findlay, Ohio-based Marathon Petroleum says the pet coke stored along the Detroit River is no longer owned by the company. If stored properly, however, Marathon says pet coke poses no environmental concerns.

The Living Room series - Fishing on the Detroit River

Stateside Staff — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 20:30:48 +0000

This piece featured on Stateside is part of an ongoing series called The Living Room, curated by Allison Downey.

"There are those for whom fishing is not only a family tradition, but a creative act: Michigan-based writer and fisherman, Pete Markus is in that category. The river and fishing inspire his work. And his writing is a hybrid of fiction and poetry. He's got this tendency to say volumes with just a few words that he repeats over and over again. Words like fish, river and Bob," Downey reported.

Pete Markus is a 2012 Kresge Literary Arts Fellow, who teaches writing in Detroit Public Schools. Producer Zak Rosen spent time fishing and talking with Markus on the Detroit River. You can listen to the audio above.

Feds, state kick in $44M to finish Detroit riverfront project

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 18:32:55 +0000

Efforts to complete a recreational development project along Detroit's east riverfront are getting a $44 million boost from the federal government and the state, reports the Associated Press.

Beavers return to Belle Isle

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 14:46:32 +0000

After years of rumors, it’s official - beavers are back on Belle Isle.

It’s been about 100 years since the animals left the 985-acre island on the Detroit River, driven away by trappings and human development. In recent years, any time someone thought they spotted a beaver in the area, park officials always deemed the animal a muskrat or raccoon caught in a case of mistaken identity.

That is, until last week when a park visitor snapped a cell phone photo of a beaver swimming in the Blue Heron Lagoon.

John Hartig of the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge told The Detroit News that the Belle Isle beavers may have come from a family of beavers spotted at the nearby Conners Creek Power Plant four years ago.

Island added to Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge

Mark Brush — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 21:44:32 +0000

The Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge was established in 2001 and it includes shoreline, wetlands, and shoals along 48 miles of the Detroit River and western Lake Erie.

The refuge system has now added a 30-acre island to the system.

From the Associated Press:

Officials say Sugar Island is part of conservation area surrounding the southern end of Grosse Ile in the Detroit River. It's located in Wayne County's Grosse Ile Township.
The island once was a destination for picnicking and had other attractions. It's near Boblo Island, which once was home to a well-known amusement park.
Sugar Island was bought by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding and it's now part of the National Wildlife Refuge System.
The refuge includes roughly 5,700 acres along 48 miles of the Detroit River and western Lake Erie.

Matty Moroun sent to jail, democracy at work

Jack Lessenberry — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 17:33:42 +0000

The Nobel-prize-winning writer Anatole France once observed sarcastically that “the law, in its infinite wisdom, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, or steal bread.”

Divers search for 18th century cannon in Detroit River

Sarah Cwiek — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 23:14:27 +0000

Divers took to the Detroit River to try and bring up a long-submerged cannon Wednesday.

Detroit Police Underwater Recovery Team divers discovered the Revolutionary War-era cannon in July. It’s the fifth such cannon pulled out of the river since the 1980s.

Detroit Police say a British vessel capsized leaving Fort Detroit in 1796, losing five cannons.

Police dive team finds cannon in Detroit River

The Associated Press — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 14:47:09 +0000

DETROIT (AP) - A police dive team has found a cannon in the Detroit River near the city's downtown. The cannon was discovered about 200 feet from Cobo Center in July. The police department says the cannon could be more than two centuries old.

U.S., Canadian agencies hold security drills on Detroit River

Sarah Cwiek — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 01:58:57 +0000

More than three-dozen U.S. and Canadian agencies participated in a mock-disaster situation on the Detroit River Tuesday.

The drills included a mock terrorist attack on a large riverboat, and a follow-up search-and-rescue operation.

Officials say the exercise caps three years of interagency planning to prepare for possible disasters along the international maritime border.

Decline of the Middle Class

Jack Lessenberry — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 16:44:48 +0000

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/michigan/local-michigan-973895.mp3

You might expect that the Legislature, our well-paid, elected representatives, would be most keenly concerned with the economy and trying to figure out how to make things better.

Snyder defends new Detroit/Ontario bridge plan

Zoe Clark — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 11:19:43 +0000

Governor Rick Snyder is defending the plan to build a second bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario. Snyder spoke to the Detroit Free Press about his support for a new international bridge over the Detroit River a day after the newspaper published comments from Ambassador Bridge owner Manuel "Matty" Moroun that criticized Snyder and the new bridge plan. From the Free Press:

Gov. Rick Snyder told the Free Press on Wednesday that a TV ad campaign attacking plans for a second bridge to Canada reminds him of misleading campaign attacks on him in last year's race for governor.
"It's inaccurate," he said of the ad's claim that the public project connecting Michigan and Canada would cost state taxpayers $100 million a year.
The ad is paid for by the owner of the Ambassador Bridge, Manuel (Matty) Moroun, who said in a front-page Free Press report Wednesday that Snyder's advocacy for the public bridge would kill Michigan jobs, notably at his companies.
Moroun wants to build his own second Detroit-Windsor span, but the Canadian government won't let him build the span because of traffic, legal and environmental concerns. Snyder said two bridges would be viable…
Snyder said a new bridge, built by a private builder, would stimulate commerce. But, he said in a wide-ranging interview, his top priority is balancing the state budget and enacting tax changes he said will lead to more jobs.

Snyder says new Detroit/Ontario bridge is still in the works

Laura Weber — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 11:01:44 +0000

Governor Rick Snyder says he hopes to introduce legislation next week that would move forward with construction on a second bridge span between Detroit and Canada. A similar proposal has met stiff opposition for several years among Republicans in the Legislature. Snyder says it is time for another international crossing:

“Doing the new international trade crossing is the right thing to do. At the same time, when I did my analysis I believe there’s viable opportunity to have the Ambassador Bridge continue, the Windsor Tunnel, the Blue Water Bridge, and clear up at the Soo. We’ve got great crossings, we just need another crossing.”

Democrats in the Legislature say Snyder will need their votes to approve the bridge project. They say if the governor wants their support he will also need to work with them more during budget negotiations.

Lawmakers return next week from their spring break.