Oil Spills on Winter Lakes - Risk Perception, Detection, and Remediation

Wednesday, April 17, 2019

The April forum discussion will present preliminary research findings that have implications for identifying best practices and developing spill remediation policy for the State of Michigan. A research panel will report on public perceptions of the risks associated with underwater oil spills based on surveys and modeling. Additionally, the MSU team will provide a research status update on a first-time investigation into how oil accumulates and spreads beneath lake ice in the winter season. The forum will outline considerations such as tourism, employment, revenue, and safe transport of fuel supplies for policy makers striving to maintain the health of the Great Lakes.

Panelist Biographical Information

Doug Bessette, Assistant Professor, Community Sustainability, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources

See presentation of State of the State Survey of Michigan residents' awareness and opinions related to the Line 5 pipeline.

Robert Richardson, Associate Professor and Ecological Economist, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources

See presentation of Estimates of Economic Damages of an Oil Spill in the Straits of Mackinac in Michigan

Michelle Rutty, Assistant Professor of Sustainable Tourism, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
Volodymyr (Vlad) Tarabara, Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

See presentation of Importance and Implications of Freshwater Ice: From the Straits of Mackinac to the Arctic

See presentation introducing Winter Lakes Forum.

See biographies of IPPSR Public Policy Forum panelists