More On Hazardous Goods

Wouldn't it be easy if life was all black and white, say if you were a Federal NDP member involved in the border issue. Then when you are no longer holding the balance of power in Parliament, you can write letters demanding an investigation by saying "Should an accident occur it will have grave consequences to people, the environment, and trade. It is without doubt the status quo is completely unacceptable."

Hey Mr. Masse, when your party could have done something on the border "status quo" what did the NDP do for Windsor?

Obviously, this BLOG continues on with the Star story involving the transport of alum across the bridge. When we get into the story we find out that Masse's real complaint is: "it's "complete hypocrisy" for Canada not to have the same safety regulations in place as the American authorities have on their side of the Ambassador." So it seems it is a Government issue not a Bridge Co. issue after all.

Our salvation for hazardous materials is the barge isn't it? I had gone back in history about the barge operation for some work I was doing and was shocked that the NDP and others had objected to its operations at one time. In fact, believe it or not, the Clean Water Alliance wondered "why putting pressure on the Ambassador Bridge to allow trucks with dangerous goods isn't also an option for the federal government to consider."

Here is a different perspective from the past just to let you know it is not always black or white!

Windsor Star October 30, 1987

A proposed barge operation between Detroit and Windsor is being slowed by concerns over the transportation of hazardous materials.

A Detroit company, Barge Transport Incorporated (BTI), has made application to both American and Canadian customs to transport large trucks from Detroit to a dock at the foot of Russell Street in the city's west end. Many of these trucks would be carrying compressed gas and other hazardous materials.

The barge operation would accommodate transport and tanker trucks that presently have to drive to the Blue Water Bridge in Sarnia to cross the border because of their contents, said the manager of BTI, John Ward.

Because the operation will require the consent of a variety of departments including the ministries of the environment, transport and communications and immigration as well as both countries' coast guards, Ward wouldn't say when the barge will start crossing the river.

"We're not ready to start yet," said Ward who was scheduled to meet with local environment officials today. "We're not going to push it."

Despite Ward's assurances that he is committed to making sure both the environment and residents are in no danger, local MPs are suspicious.

Steven Langdon, (NDP Essex-Windsor), called the operation "an accident looking for a place to happen," Thursday in the House of Commons.

In an interview this morning, Langdon said the Ministry of the Environment should have been involved in the planning from the beginning. He also said the potential for disaster through leakage or any type of accident is so great both customs and environment officials should think hard before allowing such a business to set up shop.

The NDP's critic for economic development and trade and industry received a government document which outlined BTI's proposal. Langdon said the company's barge has the capacity to carry six trucks every hour and they have a line on another transport ship that could carry 24 trucks. Langdon said the report shows BTI hoping to run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. from Monday to Friday.

Ward would not confirm this, saying that a market survey was not yet complete.

Both Langdon and Liberal MP Herb Gray have written letters to the federal Minister of the Environment, Tom McMillan, asking for a full investigation into the venture.

Richard Miles, a spokesman for Canada Customs in Windsor, said the union is worried about the safety aspect of having to inspect these trucks.

Miles said they received BTI's application about a month ago but no further action has been taken.

Windsor Star March 18, 1988

Essex-Windsor MP Steven Langdon, who first publicized the barge plans, has come to similar conclusions after discussing the barge proposal with federal officials.

"I suspect that either it's dead or it's been put in cold storage for at least a year or two," said the NDP industry critic.

Under the proposal, trucks carrying explosive, flammable and toxic substances, which are not allowed on the Ambassador Bridge, would have been loaded onto a barge in Sandwich and ferried across the Detroit River.

The barge would have carried up to 30 trucks per hour to Detroit. Residents of Sandwich complained the trucks would be a disruptive and potentially dangerous hazard to the neighborhood. They argued the barge operation would destroy attempts to upgrade and revitalize the surrounding community.

The project also raised strong environmental concerns and was strongly attacked by local members of parliament in Ottawa.

Windsor Star, July 7, 1990

The approximate 260-km detour from Windsor to Sarnia to Detroit has trucks with dangerous goods passing through Chatham, Wallaceburg and Sarnia, as well as smaller communities.

The councils of all three municipalities endorsed Barge Transport Inc.'s proposal to ferry trucks across the Detroit River because it would lessen the number of dangerous trucks on their streets.

Windsor City Council and Essex County Council unsuccessfully pressed the federal government to carry out a full environmental assessment of the barge proposal. The Windsor and District Clean Water Alliance has also pushed for a thorough environmental assessment with public hearings.

Federal Transport Minister Doug Lewis says his department has carried out a thorough, internal environmental review of the barge proposal, and approved the operation. This hasn't satisfied critics.

IN RESPONSE to the controversy, Ontario Environment Minister James Bradley has required an environmental assessment on the movement of trucks carrying dangerous goods into and out of the west-end Morterm dock area used by BTI. But the province has no jurisdiction over the movement of barges on an international waterway such as the Detroit River.

BTI vice-president Gregg Ward said Bradley's decision has had no direct impact on the operation, which has been under way without problems the past two months.

BUT WARD feels the provincial environment ministry is attempting to intimidate potential trucking customers of BTI, and put them out of business without dealing with any real environmental issues.

The Ward family has invested about $1 million and more than two years of their time to start up the barge operation and feel they're providing a valuable service to local industry by reducing trucking costs and risks.

Ward said they find it frustrating that government officials - provincial and federal - are aware of reports demonstrating that barge operations have a superior safety record in the transportation industry, but have been reluctant to relay that message forcibly to the public.

Rick Coronado, president of the Clean Water Alliance, said his group isn't claiming that BTI's operation is unsafe. He said they simply wanted a public environmental hearing to demonstrate that all the risks have been considered, and the alternatives to barging are shown to be more hazardous.

Coronado said the federal transport minister recently promised to convene, and attend, a public meeting in Windsor to answer questions about the barge operation.

But Lewis's press secretary told The Star the minister has only promised to ask the Windsor Harbor Commission for input on whether a public meeting should be held, and isn't committed to attending him self.

The harbor commission says it hasn't received anything in writing from Lewis yet.

Coronado said he's sympathetic to communities along the detour trucking route that have backed the BTI proposal. But he wonders why putting pressure on the Ambassador Bridge to allow trucks with dangerous goods isn't also an option for the federal government to consider.

Coronado, who's also a member of the Binational Public Advisory Committee overseeing preparation of a cleanup plan for the Detroit River, said he's unconvinced that governments on both sides of the border are adequately prepared to deal with spills.

Marine spills of all kinds are a major threat to the Great Lakes, and anything new that comes along - like BTI - should be thoroughly evaluated, said Coronado.

And BTI shouldn't be singled out, Coronado adds. The Detroit and St. Clair river railway barges should also be scrutinized, he said.

Ward said his operation has a detailed spills procedure that doesn't depend on government support.

BTI has arrangements with Windsor and Detroit companies with equipment such as booms and skimmers to clean up if a spill occurred, said Ward.

But more important, he feels, are the precautions BTI has taken to avoid the risk of a spill.

BTI's barge itself - unlike most on the Great Lakes - is designed to contain any spills on board from the trucks being carried.

THE BARGE is also overdesigned for its use in a protected waterway like the Detroit River, Ward said. It's capable of being used on the ocean and is licensed to carry up to 1,500 tons. The biggest load to date has been about 240 tons, he said, giving it a comfortable safety margin.

The barge was built with 16 separate compartments and could be cut in two, and both sides would still float, Ward said. Another safety factor is that if the barge did sink, the tanker trucks should be able to contain their cargoes until retrieved, he said.

The barge has radar and sonar to reduce the risk of collision, as well as being patched into the Detroit River communications system which constantly tracks the position of all large vessels. Ward said they can adjust the timing of their crossings to avoid conflicts with other vessels.

In short, Ward feels the barge operation has being unfairly labelled as an environmental threat.

He finds it ironic to look at all the controversy BTI has aroused when the railway barges and ships pass through the Detroit River all the time carrying the same sorts of cargoes - fuels and chemicals - as the tanker trucks he ferries.

And then those same trucks roll down city streets, he points out.