MI Au Sable River Saved from Oil Drills by Federal Judge
I’ve blogged about our federal courts being very environmental lately against the EPA, against mercury, against incinerators, and now the U.S. Forest Service. A long time ago, I blogged about an energy company that was poised to drill for oil on a tract of land along the Au Sable River. Drilling would inevitably ruin the area. It’s a haven for trout fishing and canoeing.
The Mason Tract, if I recall correctly, was donated by the Mason family as a place for people to get away from it all. I believe it was Earthjustice (Sierra Club) that got an injunction to stop the drilling. I want to say that was over 2 years ago. The Mason Tract is on the southern end of the Au Sable River.
The fight between Earthjustice and Savoy Energy must have made the rounds in court because the U.S. Forest Service got involved and ended up approving the drilling, but a Federal Court judge overturned the decision saying Savoy Energy acted “arbitrarily and capriciously” when they made the decision.
Yessss! Imagine leaving a particular piece of land to the state for the public to enjoy as a peaceful woodland escape, and after 50 years it means nothing. All of a sudden it’s OK to drill for oil there. And the U.S. Forest Service that is supposed to be the champion of our forests felt it was OK to allow it.
This fight is done for now but probably not over. I’m really glad to see that so far our federal courts are hanging strong for the environment. The Au Sable area is a great spot. I did an overnight canoe trip there in March way, way back when. Many people have canoed down this river and hopefully helped fight the fight to keep the area the way it is.
http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080711/NEWS01/307110008/1002/NEWS01
July 13th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
“Imagine leaving a particular piece of land to the state for the public to enjoy as a peaceful woodland escape, and after 50 years it means nothing. All of a sudden it’s OK to drill for oil there”
Somebody left some land to “the state” and the Feds step in on our territory and the socialist EarthFirsters are cheering the encroachment? Since when does the EPA or any other federal agency have jurisdiction in Michigan and what, exactly is wrong with extracting more of our own oil? The sky is not falling…
July 14th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
You’d destroy everything to get more fuel. No sense talking here. You’re just a troller.
July 14th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
Trolling for oil, perhaps? It’s certainly not doing anybody a damn bit of good sitting underground, and could be doing a whole lot of good if it’s brought to the surface…the earth goddess won’t mind a bit.
July 15th, 2008 at 8:55 pm
Earth goddess is in revolt as we speak. It’s been proven that CO2 in the air directly corresponds with global warming. Global warming is advancing so rapidly that an entire continent is melting. Antarctica is 17 million sq. miles of ice, 90% of the earth’s total ice. While the U.S. tends to concentrate on the Arctic, Antarctica is melting totally different. It’s a land mass, so when the surface gets soupy and the water runs into the crevasses on Antarctica it doesn’t drain through. It swells and blows up. Earlier this year 160 sq. miles of the Larsen B shelf just collapsed. That shelf was centuries old. Sea levels are going to rise drastically as Antarctica continues to melt, and 75% of the world’s population lives within 60 miles of the sea.
But someone like you with an e-mail address “the 2humpchump” knows better. I’d rather listen to Larry the Cable Guy.
Troller is anyone who visits a website continuously with the express purpose of disputing everything, whether the troller makes any sense or not.