Wolverine Pipeline gives report on its work in Van Buren Twp.

Wolverine Pipeline employees Brian Wilson, area supervisor for the east side of the state, and Lewis Krauss, attorney and right of way specialist, gave a report on the pipeline work in Van Buren Township at the VBT Board of Trustees meeting Sept. 20.
Wolverine is adding a second pipeline next to the one that’s been in place since 1953. It also is clearing the trees from the right of way so aerial surveillance can be done weekly. This aggressive clearing started in 2010. He showed pictures of how tree roots grow around the pipes and cause corrosion.
It’s the tree cutting and trench digging that is bringing dismay to residents along the route.
Wilson said Wolverine is a transportation service company and doesn’t own the product that flows through the pipe. It was started in 1952 and has 67 employees. The corporative office is in Portage.
The pipes go from Chicago into Detroit on the east side of the state and north in the west side of the state. Wilson said 300,000 barrels a day flow through the pipes, two-thirds of what Michigan consumes.
Currently they are transporting gasoline and diesel fuel.
He showed a map of Van Buren Township and how the pipeline runs from Rawsonville Road on the west and heads through the metropark towards Metro Airport in Romulus on the east.
He said the company is under intensive federal and state regulations. He said they talk to townships along the way, letting them know what is going on. He said information can be found at www.wolverinepipeline.com .
Wilson said they try to update public awareness and he urged residents to call Miss Dig at 811 if they are going to do any digging with equipment near the pipelines. Damage causes corrosion, a big enemy of the steel pipes.
He said Wolverine is big on preserving wetlands and works with the MDEQ.
Wilson said “smart pigs” are required to be used inline every five years to check out the pipelines. He said three-fourths of the valves on the pipelines are controlled electronically from Portage.
Krauss said the company works on emergency preparedness and response. They will be having their annual spill drill to see how prepared they are to contain a spill. It’s a tabletop experience and they invite local groups to participate.
He said the easements through people’s subdivisions and homesteads have a perpetual right. He said he would be glad to look at people’s easements to help them understand, but he cannot give legal advice.
Wilson said the pipes are wired and this takes all of the corrosion out of the pipe. He said the pipe that was laid in 1953 was made of virgin steel mined in the U.S. He said steel will last forever if you provide the cathodic protection.
Dwight Snodgrass of Country Pond subdivision said, “Our land is totally destroyed. Over 100 trees have been removed from the property.”
“There’s not anything you can do,” said Trustee Reggie Miller, who also lives in Country Pond subdivision. “They have the right.”
Supervisor Linda Combs said, “They have all their ducks in a row … and it is now taking place.”
Attorney Krauss said when they go into the communities it is a little tense, but, “We need to hear feedback.”
When Clerk Leon Wright asked what area of Wildbrook does it go through, Krauss was not sure, but he said it is a horizontal drill in Country Pond.
Snodgrass said at Wildbrook it is right at the entrance of the subdivision and a 50’ wide area is disturbed. Then it runs west through Country Ponds.
“It looks like a road. It’s horrible,” he said.
Krauss said they will work with the property owners and if there was a manicured front lawn they will put that back.
“But you can’t replace the trees,” Trustee Miller said, saying there should be a financial remedy to the residents.
“The point of that is we have the rights to do this for safety,” Krauss said.
John Delaney asked about contingencies for drains and James Chapman said the Huron River goes out to Lake Erie and asked how many feet under the river do they drill.
Wilson said the pipe thickness is almost doubled for the line that goes 10 feet under the river. He said there are block valves on each side of the river and they can be shut to isolate the river if there is a problem.
They said they would do a similar presentation at the Ypsilanti Township Hall at 4 p.m., Oct. 4, before their regular meeting.
In other business at the Sept. 20 meeting, the board:
• Removed from the agenda proposed approval of the VBT Policies and Procedures Manual and the VBT Salaried Employees Benefits Manual. The two documents also were to be presented for approval at the July 19 meeting, but also were withdrawn from that agenda. They were prepared by Nicole Sumpter, who serves as Administrative Assistant to Clerk Wright and VBT Benefits Coordinator;
• Heard members of the audience speak on the new DPW trucks, the 13.5 mills that are on the ballot in November, support for the public safety millage, Riggs Heritage House preservation, police towing costs, the need to make the public aware of the local heroin problem with two siblings being lost on the same day, a prediction that the public safety millage will fail because of the tsunami coming with the Visteon bond, and a request to put off demolition of the Riggs house until the new board takes over after the election; and
• Heard Supervisor Combs say the contract has already been awarded and signed for the razing of the Riggs house. Trustee Miller asked: “Nothing can be done? This house will be taken down?” Combs replied, “Yes.”