Old errors in a new era? Enbridge fails again!

Is our environment comprised of more than just fungible goods?

What Are Fungible Goods?

Fungibles goods refer to securities, or other items, that are equivalent or consist of many identical parts such that, for practical purposes, they are interchangeable. Material items, securities, and other financial instruments may be considered fungible goods. If goods are sold by weight or number, then they are probably not fungible goods.

BLUE MARBLE
Image Credit: NASA/NOAA/GSFC/Suomi NPP/VIIRS/Norman Kuring

Many humans have been working toward dominion over nature for thousands of years. It appears now that success has been achieved, but not in the way envisioned. Will the governments of the world succeed in abating atmospheric pollution soon enough to minimize climactic volatility and its consequences? That question, and some related law suits agains fossil fuel companies, makes me think we’ve approached the basics of business all wrong, just as we have attained dominion over nature all wrong. Here’s a current example from Minnesota.

DNR says Enbridge broke law, must pay over $3 million for construction mistake

The DNR says the company pierced an aquifer and endangered a unique wetland. 

From the article in the  Star  Tribune:

The DNR has ordered Enbridge to put $2.75 million into escrow for restoration and damage to the delicate wetland, known as a calcareous fen. The DNR's enforcement orders require Enbridge to pay $300,000 to mitigate the lost groundwater and $250,000 for long-term monitoring of the wetlands.

The state also fined Enbridge $20,000, the maximum allowed under state law. Enbridge does not have to pay the fine if it fixes the problem in the time allotted. Enbridge could get some of the $2.75 million in escrow back if remediation costs less, or it could end up paying more if the bill is higher. 

DNR has reportedly approved a remediation plan, but do we know, with any reasonable degree of certainty, that the rare calcareous fen can be protected and actually restored if necessary? The premise is that we know enough, and can accomplish enough, to fix what Enbridge broke. That  premise is questionable for several reasons. If the premise were entirely valid, we wouldn’t need the precautionary principle:

One of the primary foundations of the precautionary principle, and globally accepted definitions, results from the work of the Rio Conference, or "Earth Summit" in 1992. Principle 15 of the Rio Declaration notes:^[15][1]

In order to protect the environment, the precautionary approach shall be widely applied by States according to their capabilities. Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation.

— Rio Declaration, 1992

The principle does not appear to have been incorporated sufficiently into the permits issued by  the state  of Minnesota’s agencies that allowed Enbridge to construct Line 3. Deviations from approved construction plans were discovered only after the fact. There is no assurance that it will be possible to plug the acquifer and protect the fen.

These circumstances, and the threats associated with proposed hard rock mines in or near environmentally sensitive areas, strongly suggest Minnesota needs new parameters as part of its permitting conditions.

• There should be explicit acknowledgement that following a precautionary approach is a condition of the permits and a business’s social license in Minnesota.
• There should be recognition that imposing fines, often treated as a cost of doing business, is inadequate and insufficient as a deterrent to violating environmental requirements.
• Minnesota should only issue environmental permits to entities that are structured as certified “B” corporations, or equivalent.

Governments and businesses, be they local, national or international, have become entirely to cavalier about not letting environmental requirements prohibit making a profit. It is again time to remind those folks of Sam Rayburn’s observation that "Any jackass can kick down a barn, but it takes a good carpenter to build one.” The last time I checked, we were woefully short on carpenters able to build a new environment like a wild rice lake or a Boundary Waters Canoe Area. Will Minnesota ever require best practices be followed for its risky businesses?

Earth Day

By Jane Yolen

I am the Earth

And the Earth is me.

Each blade of grass,

Each honey tree,

Each bit of mud,

And stick and stone

Is blood and muscle,

Skin and bone.

And just as I

Need every bit

Of me to make

My body fit,

So Earth needs

Grass and stone and tree

And things that grow here

Naturally.

That’s why we

Celebrate this day.

That’s why across

The world we say:

As long as life,

As dear, as free,

I am the Earth

And the Earth is me. 

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