Icebreaking Research Vessel to Transit Lake Michigan
The Coast Guard is alerting residents of ice-breaking activities scheduled to begin Tuesday and last into the weekend. The nearest towns to Pere Marquette Lake are Ludington and Scottville, Mich. The research vessel Sikuliaq is scheduled to transit through Pere Marquette Lake multiple times in order to gain access to Ludington's Occidental Chemical Facility, Feb. 18-22. The vessel has icebreaking capabilities. All ice fishermen should remove their ice shacks and equipment from these areas. Snowmobilers, all-terrain vehicle operators and other recreational users of the ice should plan their activities carefully, avoid shipping channels, and use caution near these areas of operation.
Ingram and Crounse: Towing History into the Present
If towboats and barges hurtled passed the average American on their way to work every morning, the industry would be better known. If commuters had to deal with failed locks the way they have to deal with congested freeways, political support for the river industry’s infrastructure would be easier to come by. Instead, towing vessels and their crews go about their work in relative obscurity. The general public sees towboats and barges as historic relics from Sam Clemens’ time and less so an integral part of the modern American economy.
Chemical Release Contained Within Vessel
Coast Guard boat crews from Station Port Aransas have set up a 1 mile safety zone around vessel VENUSGAS within the La Quinta marine channel in Ingleside, Texas until 4:30 p.m. today while a space inside the vessel is being ventilated. Alarms reported the release of vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) early yesterday morning at the Occidental chemical facility. The source of the release was the VENUSGAS which was moored at the end of their pier. After a hazardous materials inspection team entered the vessel this morning and began ventilating the space, all levels of VCM are reported to be negligible and contained within the vessel. The ventilation of the space has no impact on the outlying community.
Port Authority Commission Delivers Security Equipment
The Port of Houston Authority (PHA) commission approved several recommendations involving contract awards, bids and proposals, professional services and general administrative and operational matters during its meeting on Monday, January 26. Chairman Jim Edmonds presided over the public meeting. The commission approved recommendations to issue purchase orders to Motorola, Inc., Dictaphone Corporation, and SBC, respectively, for radio system equipment, voice recorder equipment, and telephone lines that will be installed in the PHA's Emergency Command Center. The combined total amount of the purchase orders is not expected to exceed $385,000.
Texas LNG Facility Gets Go Ahead
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved an innovative new liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal and related facilities proposed by Ingleside Energy Center and San Patricio Pipeline to be located in San Patricio County, Texas. The Commission granted Ingleside Energy Center authority under Section 3 of the Natural Gas Act to construct a new terminal designed to provide an option for extracting natural gas liquids in addition to importing, storing and vaporizing one billion cubic feet (Bcf) of gas per day. The project would be constructed on the shoreline of Corpus Christi Bay near Ingleside, Texas, on a site owned by the applicants’ parent company, Occidental Chemical Corp. “I congratulate the Commission staff for processing this application so expeditiously.
