Interview with WDIV, Channel 4 at the human blockade action on Monday, June 24 2013 at TransFlo Terminal.
The topics covered in the video were:
- Illegal dumping has been happening since November 2012 to present. Triggered by Marathon Refinery’s installation of a new delay coker.
- Koch Carbon has been purchasing the petroleum coke as soon as it comes out of the coker. This is why Marathon states they have no claim to the material.
- The petcoke run is a continual flow of trucks from the refinery. About every 15 minutes another truck arrives with more for the piles.
- Fugitive dust is created when the load is dropped in the yard, then more dust when the loader picks up each shovel full, and more dust when it is sent on a conveyor to the top of the piles.
- Conveyors are able to stack the petcoke up to 50 feet in the air.
- Tuesday June 18 MDEQ stated during Public Health & Safety meeting of City Council that they recommended to Detroit Bulk Storage and its operations that piles were to be kept under 20 feet high. The piles are 40-50 feet high a week later.
- The filing of a conditional use permit is happening after-the-fact. It should have been filed before the site’s use for the product before November 2012.
- Detroit Bulk Storage Company is violating the law. They have not filed for conditional use, they have ignored requests to comply, they have been ticketed only once, on June 5th before the PH&S meeting that date.
- We are demanding the illegal actions of Detroit Bulk Storage Company are prosecuted. Some corporate representatives need to be put in jail for their crimes against the environment and the people.
- We demand Koch Carbon creates a community health fund to handle the long term health effects of the environmental conditions created.
- The Riverwalk expansion will offer more tax collection and job creation than this industrial dumping site.
- Fishermen likely missed seeing the black plume of petcoke in the stormwater drains. Detroit Bulk Storage cemented a stormwater catch on June 5th, however water finds a way to go where it wishes.
- Windsor has reported petcoke dust on their streets which is going into their stormwater catches as well.
