Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Gary Peters released the following statement in response to new efforts to bring petroleum coke piles back to the Detroit waterfront, despite the problems the pet coke has caused for small businesses and residents in the region:

“Small businesses and families I represent have expressed serious concerns over storing vast quantities of pet coke out in the open air. The environmental and public health risks associated with dust blowing onto residences and runoff emptying into the Great Lakes Watershed can’t be taken lightly, and those concerns have yet to be addressed," Peters said. “We still do not have answers about these risks or potential threats to our Great Lakes from open-air pet coke storage. It is irresponsible to subject the community once again to problems associated with pet coke storage that are still unresolved."

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and news reports have raised questions about unmitigated open-air storage of pet coke piles. In a site view last year, the MDEQ released a briefing paper expressing concerns about the handling of fugitive dust and runoff. Last year, when the piles reached heights of almost three stories, there were problems reported with runoff from the piles emptying into an open drain that deposited pet coke into the Great Lakes Watershed before being filled in. Dust from the piles was captured on video over the Detroit River and residents complained about dust blowing into homes and businesses.

Peters has been leading the fight for developing a comprehensive solution on how to properly store pet coke and study into the long-term health and safety implications of pet coke. Peters introduced the Petroleum Coke Transparency and Public Health Study Act that calls for a federal study on public health and environmental impacts of the byproduct. Peters’ proposal earned support from Michigan U.S. Representatives John Conyers Jr., John Dingell, Sander Levin, and Dan Kildee, and its Senate companion was introduced by Senators Levin, Stabenow, Durbin and Brown.

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