While it was considered an informational meeting, most people who packed the Southfield Library Wednesday evening had their minds already made up. And nothing in the lengthy presentation could alter the groundswell of emotion against a proposed oil well at Word of Faith Church at 9 Mile and Evergreen.
About 200 people attended a meeting at the Southfield Library Wednesday evening to discuss a planned exploration gas and oil well on the Word of Faith International Christian Center property, located at the corner of Nine Mile and Evergreen. Jordan Exploration Company, L.L.C., based in Traverse City, has applied to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) for a permit to drill. There were about 200 more people who couldn’t get in the crowded auditorium so the organizers quickly organized another town hall event to discuss concerns for Monday, February 1 at 6:00 pm at Southfield City Hall, with a room for over-flow viewing as well.
A House Bill introduced Wednesday would effectively repeal Michigan’s emergency financial manager law.
State Representative and Minority Assistant Floor Leader LaTanya Garrett (D-Detroit) says decision making needs to be returned to the people in the community.
As the state considers a permit application for oil drilling at a Southfield church, residents packed a library auditorium Wednesday night to learn more about the potential environmental effects.
The temperature hovered in the teens Jan. 17, but that didn’t stop a group of spirited residents from picketing outside Word of Faith International Christian Center, a church in talks with an oil and gas company to drill an exploratory well.
A bipartisan group of state lawmakers hopes to send privacy protection legislation to Gov. Rick Snyder’s desk this year.
Michigan is one of 16 states that have seen privacy protection legislation introduced this month. That’s as it’s become clear political gridlock in Washington will prevent any national legislation from moving in 2016.
A Southfield church is looking to raise money not through bottle drives, car washes or passing the collection plate, but by installing an oil well on its property.
And that's got some in the community — including city officials — not exactly loving their neighbor.
Protests were held in Southfield on Sunday as the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality plans to make a decision this week on oil drilling in the city.
A deal between a church and an oil exploration company would allow the search for oil to begin soon and many residents in Southfield are trying to fight it.
A debate that started in Southfield after an oil company sought permission to drill the grounds on a church property has led one lawmaker to propose legislation seeking to ban oil and gas drilling in all residential areas in the state.
The Courser-Gamrat story has generated more interest in expanding the state’s Freedom of Information law to include the Michigan legislature.
But the measure may be in trouble.
