Marathon Refinery Question

For anyone fimilar with the scope of construction for the Marathon Refinery, I have a few questions if you care to address:

• Does this project include anything that will benifit the adjacent residential area such as improved envioronment controls, additional landscaping and/or streetscapes?
• Will the site have an additional office or employee buildng[[s) that can act as a buffer between the public street and the refinery?
• Will the site have additonal emergency equipment, is so could they ulitize the vacant fire station located a block from the refinery?
• Are they responsible for monitoring [[and inproving) the air quality in the surrounding area?
• Have they fullfilled the costruction employment projections and are they on course to provide the number of pernament jobs they stated during the approval process?

Have you checked here yet? www.detroithoup.com

By biggest problem with the refinery expansion is that industry and pollution is growing immensely on the DelRay side of Fort Street. Many people in neighborhoods such as Bayside, Oakwood Heights, the neighborhood wherein Boynton school is located, and Springwells Village are moving out because of the nasty air and aesthetic qualities that the encroaching industry has brought to their neighborhoods.

Strong union with great paying jobs 17 to 24 dollars an hour-pays double time. EXCELLENT health benefits. Emergency training...our state need those kind of jobs...not more small businesses.Small businesses dont pay enough for us to support small businesses!

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Originally Posted by Zozo

...are moving out because of the nasty air and aesthetic qualities that the encroaching industry has brought to their neighborhoods.

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Most of the smells in that area are from the sewage plant, not the refinery.

That area smelled as it does when I spent summers there in the 1960s. If anything, its much better now.

It seems industry is leaving the area not encroaching on neighborhoods. Marathon has been there some time and the expansion is on the same property Marathon has owned. The fences have not expanded, equipment has just been sandwiched into every spare inch. The refinery has gone from 60kbpd to appx. 130kbpd. They are closely regulated as to air quality. The most distinct smell from Marathon would be asphalt. As commented earlier the smell from Det.WW and Zug Island are probably far worse. The old Allied Signal/Honeywell plant that closed a few years ago was probably the worst offender as they processed coal tar from the coke battery.
The refinery upgrade is employing hundreds of contractors, engineers and lower skilled individuals. But with any heavy industry there is a pollution stream. Those in the neighborhood should be observant and report any unusual smells, fires, spills etc.

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Originally Posted by detroitfan

The most distinct smell from Marathon would be asphalt. As commented earlier the smell from Det.WW and Zug Island are probably far worse.

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They aren't the same smell, though. There's the Jefferson smell and the Fort Street smell, and they're different.

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Originally Posted by terryh

...our state need those kind of jobs...not more small businesses.

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What an ignorant statement. Small businesses [[less than 500 employees) have generated 65 percent of net new jobs over the past 17 years and they employ half of all the private sector employees in the USA [source].

We need more new small businesses! Successful small businesses grow into larger businesses.

Once we were proud of our industry.

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Originally Posted by Wesley Mouch

Once we were proud of our industry.

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What? We still have industry? I thought Uncle Sam sold it all to China

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Originally Posted by DetroitDad

What? We still have industry? I thought Uncle Sam sold it all to China

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The great irony is that the best capitalists are communists.

Russix... although I don't disagree with you assessment...

In this case I always thought that the great irony was that no matter what brand of gasoline you purchased for your cars... it all came from that same Marathon refinery!

If small businesses are generating the most jobs, what kind of pay and benifits are these jobs for the most part. Is it any different that a big box retailer or fast food type of pay?

The fire station a block away caught fire sometime back when it was a residence.
The fire dept moved to it's current location on fort st. south of scheafer in 1971.
The old station only had room for 1 truck. The refinery station is like 5 trucks.

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Originally Posted by Mikeg

What an ignorant statement. Small businesses [[less than 500 employees) have generated 65 percent of net new jobs over the past 17 years and they employ half of all the private sector employees in the USA [source].

We need more new small businesses! Successful small businesses grow into larger businesses.

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I guess I was thinking in terms of coffee, record, resale, gift shops.etc...Mikeg. If a small start up printing business can grow into a large scale printing-book bindery that employes several hundred workers making wages up into the teens..with overtime in good times great! My brother works for a German auto parts company..makes 24 an hr with lots of o.t..took hime 15 years to get to that wage and pays up the wazoo for insurance as the place in non union.

It's great that Marathon and similar companies in the area are growing and providing good paying jobs. But no one wants to live next to ugly, noisy, smoke-belching machinations. Over time you will see residents leaving these polluted areas. Why would anyone want to call an area like this their home? Many residents have already left over the last ten years. Of course they are leaving not just because of the reasons I mentioned above, but these reasons are a big part. The City of Detroit is going to have to make a decision about that whole area: Del Ray, Springwells Village, Oakwood Heights, Bayside, etc. I don't agree that these good paying jobs should come at the expense of the greater neighborhood[[s).

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Originally Posted by Russix

The great irony is that the best capitalists are communists.

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That's funny. There's a lot of truth in that.