Nestled by the St. Clair River, a small rural neighborhood in St. Clair Township, Michigan, is surrounded by a high concentration of hazardous crude oil and natural gas facilities owned by Enbridge Energy, Energy Transfer and Sunoco. Residents of Murphy Drive live near a meter station, tank farm and pump station, along with Sunoco pipelines that run through the community. For decades, Murphy Drive residents have been exposed to unreported chemical releases, oil spills, poor air quality and harmful odors. Community advocate Vanessa Davis also notes that since Enbridge Energy's 6B pipeline expansion, some residents of Murphy Drive have reported methane-contaminated water.

According to Davis, government agencies and nearby facilities have lacked transparency about chemical leaks and odor releases, leaving residents uninformed about exposure times and hindering their access to necessary medical care. This lack of transparency has led to various health issues, including but not limited to chronic nosebleeds, headaches, respiratory problems, sinus complications, loss of smell, asthma, cognitive impairments and concerns of chemical poisoning. These effects extend beyond humans, affecting pets and other animals in the community as well.

In addition to health concerns, residents face financial strains resulting from buying bottled water, covering increased medical and veterinary bills, and coping with lost wages from frequent illness. The community is also disturbed by constant noise, road traffic from the facilities, and bright stadium lights that were placed on the tanks without any communication or consideration of their impact on the neighbors, Davis said. These conditions have become the new normal for those who live on Murphy Drive, yet few in the greater Michigan community are aware of this situation. 

A group of master’s students from the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)—Rebecca Beilinson (MS ’24), Alexandria Martin (MS ’24), Allie Lawler (MS ’24) and Margot Ridgeway (MS ’24), along with their advisors, SEAS Lecturer Michelle Martinez (MS ’08) and SEAS Professor Kyle Whyte of the Tishman Center for Social Justice and the Environment—have partnered with Davis and Pamela Clearwood, who spearheads Families Reclaiming Our Environment (FROE), an organization dedicated to securing environmental justice for St. Clair Township. The students’ goal was to bring more visibility to Davis’ work in St. Clair Township as part of their master’s project, “Environmental Justice Case Study in St. Clair Township, Michigan.”

Like many frontline communities, the township faces daunting challenges against powerful industry giants. Davis has tried numerous avenues to secure a healthy environment for the community, from reporting violations to local, state and federal officials to attempting to hold polluters legally responsible. In 2016, Davis and 19 other plaintiffs filed a lawsuit against Enbridge, Sunoco and Great Lakes Petroleum (see more at Davis v. Sunoco Pipeline Ltd. P’ship). Despite their unwavering efforts and legal battles, the community’s pursuit for environmental justice remains an ongoing fight.

Anna Bunting (MS ’23) and Kristen Haitaian from Freshwater Future, a nonprofit organization, have supported FROE through coaching and consulting for years now, but additional assistance could prove instrumental in this fight, according to the SEAS master’s students. The students’ project deliverables, created partially on behalf of Freshwater Future, include a comprehensive environmental health and community survey, a digital archive of critical documents, and a magnet that provides crucial information for community members wishing to report environmental emergencies. 

Environmental health and community survey

The environmental injustices in St. Clair Township have been largely overlooked, prompting the project’s broader goal to “lay out clear evidence that environmental injustice is happening here,” said Beilinson. To bring these untold stories of environmental injustice to light, the team conducted community surveys to grasp the impacts from the petrochemical companies on the residents of St. Clair Township. As Beilinson explained, “We wanted to know what were their quality-of-life impacts? What were the health impacts? How aware of these facilities in their neighborhood are they?”

The team found that many residents suffer from chronic health problems, which remain poorly documented. St. Clair Township is an underserved area, lacking financial resources which inhibits access to healthcare. “They [residents] often don’t have the money or investment to access medical doctors,” Ridgeway said. The limited healthcare could contribute to significant gaps in environmental health reporting in St. Clair Township, exacerbating the lack of media attention. 

The team also found that some residents were unaware of the hazardous facilities nearby, partially because they are obscured by larger, more noticeable operations on the Canadian side of the St. Clair River or near Port Huron. Beilinson explained how some residents “are just not aware of the facilities in their neighborhood. They’re massive facilities, but they’re kind of hidden behind some woods, far from the road so you wouldn’t necessarily know that they’re there.”

The more conspicuous facilities capture public attention, inadvertently allowing the less visible ones in St. Clair Township to operate with reduced scrutiny. These facilities can then evade responsibility because they “shift the blame elsewhere,” Beilinson noted.

Adding to this challenge, the team was “astonished” that many new residents moved into the area without any knowledge of these facilities. “They were sold homes without being told that these facilities are there, and that really surprised me,” Lawler said. Davis underscored this, and added, “When we moved to the area, the issues and concerns surrounding health impacts, environmental issues and many of the other problems regarding the facilities on Murphy Drive were never disclosed to us.”

The team also took note of the diverse range in community perspectives, emphasizing how “it’s valuable to talk to a lot of different community members and get to know the different perspectives,” Beilinson said. “Because when we’re doing community work, we sometimes think of communities as a monolith or very homogenous and that’s definitely not the case. While some community members knew exactly what was happening and were candid in their frustration, others were not concerned or were more focused on the economic impacts.”

Throughout the process, the team ensured that every survey question and interview conducted was approved by Davis, their community partner. This thorough approach shed light on the various health impacts and the nuances to the prevailing lack of awareness about the environmental injustice in St. Clair Township.

Digital archive

The community-led organizing efforts headed by Davis have culminated in a substantial collection of documentation that has yet to be organized. This archive comprises decades of permits, communications between community members and government officials, Freedom of Information Act documents, and other evidence to support Davis and the St. Clair Township community in their legal battle. Effective organization of these documents could significantly bolster the community’s capacity in its legal battle and provide a story archive documenting each injustice, according to the master’s students. Martin is working on completing the digital archive this summer.

Community re-engagement

As the legal battles have continued, Davis has noticed a sense of fatigue among community members who have been living with these facilities for many years without seeing meaningful change. Fighting for environmental justice requires significant time and energy, and community members face many other pressing issues, including health, income, and job security, according to Davis. “Our community has been subjected to years of toxic chemical exposure—from tank roof failures to tank cleanouts, pipelines being changed and expanded, odors from tanker truck-drop off, and too many other incidents to mention. These environmental injustices, along with the rise in inflation, food prices, and heightened medical expenses, have resulted in the community having to pick and choose their battles, and environmental issues aren’t always a priority,” Davis explained. 

Therefore, a key goal for the master’s team was to support Davis in re-engaging the community. In June 2023, the SEAS master’s team organized a community outreach event for FROE at a local park, featuring a cookout, brief presentations and discussions about the project’s goals. Additionally, while conducting their community health survey, the team provided informational materials about the oil and gas facilities and contact information for those interested in getting involved with FROE.

Davis recently announced that the organizing efforts of the master’s project team, along with support from Freshwater Future, have helped FROE become a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. “Even though there have been many losses and challenges, FROE is invigorated and excited to continue re-engaging the community, bringing awareness to what is happening in their own backyard, and building community partnerships for a brighter and healthier future for all,” said Davis.

Key takeaways and lessons learned

Beilinson was struck by how often environmental justice in rural areas is overlooked. “They’re not what you would traditionally think of as an EJ community. And because it’s so rural, there’s not a ton of people who are being impacted, so there’s not a lot of outside pressure to focus on these kinds of issues.” This project not only draws awareness to the environmental injustices in St. Clair Township but also establishes a broader framework for environmental justice advocacy in rural communities.

Davis and the team also highlighted the complex regulatory framework and jurisdictional oversight involved in environmental regulations. “It’s really complicated when you start to get into the different regulations (state, local, or federal) at play and where it’s air quality versus where it’s pipeline authority,” Beilinson said. The team also found that navigating jurisdiction is particularly challenging in terms of pipelines. “One agency has jurisdiction over a pipeline when the oil’s in the pipe, but the second it is not in the pipe, it’s somebody else’s jurisdiction,” Lawler explained. Additionally, the team noted how delayed responses to complaints from government agencies can lead to regulatory gaps. “By the time they [government officials] respond to odor complaints, the odor is gone because the wind or facility operations have changed,” Lawler said. “Officials then document that no problems were found, even though their investigation happens long after the initial complaint.”

Another salient insight from the project is the importance of perseverance in the fight for environmental justice. “Sometimes you are working at things for many years, and then suddenly there is a breakthrough, but it requires a lot of grit, resilience and creativity to approach a problem from different angles,” said Beilinson. Ridgeway added, “Our systems, economy, and corporations are set up discourage people like Ms. Davis and communities like St. Clair Township from speaking out in the first place. And because it takes so long, it’s hard to keep up the good fight. I was a little naive and surprised at just how long the process does take, and it really is an ongoing effort every single day.” Lawler echoed this sentiment, noting the difficulty in maintaining long-term engagement and emphasizing the need for continuous persistence and resilience. The team stressed that although the St. Clair Township community is facing an uphill battle, they have shown great resilience that is truly remarkable.

Next steps

At the time of this article, the team has completed an 80-page report that includes the results from their community survey and methodologies. The team also created an executive summary highlighting key grievances for Davis to share with government officials, hopefully yielding change. Looking ahead, the team is collaborating with Davis to organize another master’s project team to pick up where they left off and “keep the momentum going because there is still a lot to be done,” Ridgeway noted.

The master’s project has been equally transformative for both the St. Clair Township community and the team involved. “When you’re doing this kind of work, you’re not just building trust with one person, you’re building trust with a whole group of people. We formed wonderful relationships that I hope will persist after the project,” Lawler reflected. “The relationships we built renewed a sense of hope for the future and momentum in our fight,” added Davis.

The knowledge gained, the bonds formed and the experiences will leave a lasting impact, inspiring their future career paths, said the students. And although the team has graduated, their relationship with the St. Clair Township community remains strong with Beilinson, Lawler and Martin joining FROE’s board of trustees and donating the remaining master’s project funds to support FROE’s initiatives. Martin, in particular, is continuing her work throughout Summer 2024, thanks to a grant she received from the SEAS Tishman Center for Social Justice and the Environment. However, to continue this important work, Martin had to postpone her graduation to August 2024, as the grant was only available to current students. Despite this, Martin remains undeterred and is excited to “continue this work in a capacity where I don’t have any other commitments. Now that the semester is over, I can focus solely on supporting FROE and completing the digital archive.”