WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:01.000 Good to go. 00:01.000 --> 00:02.000 Yep. 00:02.000 --> 00:03.000 Okay. 00:03.000 --> 00:09.160 So the environmental specialists, you said they go on site or near site? 00:09.160 --> 00:11.480 They kind of monitor the area. 00:11.480 --> 00:20.120 So not necessarily on site, but monitor the area through usually what we rely on is just 00:20.120 --> 00:21.480 our mapping system. 00:21.480 --> 00:24.360 So we kind of have an idea. 00:24.360 --> 00:35.120 And so we coordinate with the Department of Natural Resources and any of those local 00:35.120 --> 00:38.120 authorities to kind of keep in context. 00:38.120 --> 00:45.320 So when, as you mentioned, the gas leak that just happened, there was a number of different, 00:45.320 --> 00:52.080 whether it was the sheriff's department or bad rivers, response teams, all of the response 00:52.080 --> 00:54.080 teams, Enbridge. 00:54.120 --> 00:59.320 They all have this coordinated communication and we're a part of that. 00:59.320 --> 01:07.200 And so that's just based on what we have as far as kind of like, I guess, let's say, 01:07.200 --> 01:12.920 for lack of a better word, just the inventory that we have, as far as maps and areas that 01:12.920 --> 01:23.000 we monitor just for on a regular basis, it could be plant habitat or fishery or wildlife 01:23.000 --> 01:25.280 different areas there. 01:25.280 --> 01:31.680 We just are in constant, just constantly monitoring those areas there. 01:31.680 --> 01:38.200 In regards to the gas leak that happened just about just over a week ago, can you take us 01:38.200 --> 01:44.600 back to just a week ago and how the communication came down to your office and your environmental 01:44.600 --> 01:47.280 specialists that this occurred again? 01:47.920 --> 01:55.440 Well, I initially got a lot of my communication comes from the secretary of the DNR. 01:55.440 --> 02:05.200 And so our biologists that we have, there is a communication from the Department of Natural 02:05.200 --> 02:06.200 Resources. 02:06.200 --> 02:13.560 They sent something out where, and it was through email, so that's how we were notified. 02:13.600 --> 02:19.960 So there's, in that whole chain of email, a number of our environmental specialists, 02:19.960 --> 02:27.520 our biologists, and myself included, but I was contacted personally by the secretary 02:27.520 --> 02:28.520 of the DNR. 02:28.520 --> 02:33.200 That's how I was informed of what was happening there. 02:33.200 --> 02:45.200 Because we have strived to improve communication, and so we, it's established between Glifwerk 02:45.200 --> 02:53.000 and the DNR that we should be communicating with each other in that sense, regardless 02:53.000 --> 02:57.360 of what the situation is. 02:57.360 --> 02:59.320 What the situation is. 02:59.320 --> 03:05.960 So is it that when the gas leak happened, Enbridge has to communicate with the DNR? 03:05.960 --> 03:12.800 Yeah, because that's where the permit, the DNR is the permit, issues the permit, so 03:12.800 --> 03:21.880 they're communicating in that sense, and that's how they're bringing. 03:21.880 --> 03:29.280 In that communication, did they share how much gas? 03:29.280 --> 03:31.240 Was leaked? 03:31.240 --> 03:47.840 Not initially, there was just the immediate notification of a gas leak. 03:47.840 --> 03:54.320 So as for myself and our organization, we didn't know what the volume was, and so those 03:54.320 --> 04:00.200 are questions we ask in response, like what, all these different things, well what happened, 04:00.200 --> 04:08.480 what led to that, because we have a concern always for people, if there's families or 04:08.480 --> 04:17.280 people in the area, impact to the resource, asking a number of different questions. 04:17.280 --> 04:22.120 In addition to that, there was a lot of emergency response vehicles, so there was a 04:22.120 --> 04:30.280 lot of local law enforcement, so that was another thing that was, because it had showed 04:30.280 --> 04:41.760 up on social media, basically on the scanner of this emergency response thing, so that 04:41.760 --> 04:48.480 was the other way that we were notified about what happened. 04:48.480 --> 04:56.920 So there was an urgency, you knew something was really bad, something bad had happened 04:56.920 --> 05:06.840 when there was a number of law enforcement responding, and then there was just in addition 05:06.840 --> 05:16.600 to just your county, there was tribal emergency response, as well as Enbridge, and so there 05:16.600 --> 05:22.360 was this kind of, the alert was really high. 05:22.360 --> 05:25.640 Did they answer your question about how many gallons filled? 05:25.640 --> 05:28.040 No, they did not. 05:28.040 --> 05:30.240 As of now, have you been given an estimate? 05:30.240 --> 05:39.520 Yeah, we were later as the, because I have no direct communication, I have not had any 05:39.520 --> 05:45.160 direct communication with Enbridge, I have just been solely communicating with the Department 05:45.160 --> 05:53.920 of Natural Resources, and so I asked those questions, and when I was in communication 05:53.920 --> 06:02.960 with the state, it had not been remediated, it was still active. 06:02.960 --> 06:13.160 So I personally just asked the DNR, is there something you can do to stop that, and because 06:13.160 --> 06:20.600 there's an immediate risk to public safety, there's an immediate public safety risk, and 06:20.600 --> 06:25.600 I stress that to the Secretary of the DNR, to do something, you have to do more than 06:25.600 --> 06:36.720 just ask them, or just to stand there and watch, there has to be something more. 06:36.720 --> 06:38.720 So it was still leaking? 06:38.720 --> 06:40.240 Yeah, it was still active. 06:40.240 --> 06:41.240 What time did it start? 06:41.240 --> 06:43.960 I don't, I don't, don't recall the time. 06:43.960 --> 06:44.960 I'll find it. 06:44.960 --> 06:51.200 And so, I was actually- Sorry, your arms are blocking the microphone? 06:51.200 --> 06:52.200 Thanks. 06:52.200 --> 06:53.200 Oh, sorry. 06:53.200 --> 06:55.160 Can we do that more soon again? 06:55.160 --> 07:06.840 I'm not aware of the time of when the actual leak started, or when the teams were responding, 07:06.840 --> 07:15.400 what I do, what I was, I did receive a call from the Secretary of the DNR, and she made 07:15.400 --> 07:22.560 me aware of what was happening there, and then I talked with our team, our biological 07:22.560 --> 07:28.800 services, our enforcement, and our division of Intergovernmental Affairs to kind of get 07:28.800 --> 07:35.280 an idea, talked with some of our local, our tribal leadership, reached out to them as 07:35.320 --> 07:40.880 well, and made them aware of like the communication that I was receiving, and also asking them 07:40.880 --> 07:47.440 if there is anything that we could do to assist, you know, in whatever capacity that is, but 07:47.440 --> 07:51.880 just generally just asking that question. 07:51.880 --> 08:01.560 I did ask those questions of like, what was the damage, what, if was there any impact 08:01.560 --> 08:07.480 to the resource or any, you know, anything like that, and so there was no immediate 08:07.480 --> 08:16.480 answer or response from the state of Wisconsin, but eventually, you know, as hours went by, 08:16.480 --> 08:23.320 then we started to receive more information, and then as the days had gone on as probably 08:23.320 --> 08:31.120 more of the, you know, I don't want to say investigation, but as the progress of clean 08:31.120 --> 08:40.440 up and things like that, we were able, we were more informed of like what was what happened. 08:40.440 --> 08:47.640 And so the leak stopped and then it's the cleanup effort, so what are some specific steps 08:47.720 --> 08:54.640 that you do to support Bad River in this crisis, this environmental crisis? 08:54.640 --> 09:01.560 Well, the only thing we can really do for Bad River is to just share this with him, share 09:01.560 --> 09:09.920 with them any information that we received that they may have not received, so we check 09:09.920 --> 09:16.400 with them to see, you know, what they've received, because if we don't want to duplicate this 09:16.400 --> 09:21.400 really unnecessary, if they were receiving everything that we've received, but just based 09:21.400 --> 09:27.200 on our assessments that have been done, the collection of data that we have for those 09:27.200 --> 09:42.080 areas, we can just let Bad River know like this area may impact, you know, it could be 09:42.080 --> 09:52.080 access to, you know, rivers or streams or it could be, you know, harvest area for deer 09:52.080 --> 10:00.080 or, you know, or berry collection or anything like that, so we'd just look at, you know, 10:00.080 --> 10:06.080 just through our collection of data to share with them anything that might be relevant 10:06.080 --> 10:10.080 that they should be concerned about. 10:10.080 --> 10:12.080 So, when something like this happens.