Ambassador Bridge owner sues Michigan over hazmat ban

Moroun wants toxic cargoes allowed on span despite lack of safety features

Ambassador Bridge owner Matty Moroun says the Michigan Department of Transportation and its director have no right to prevent hazardous materials from being transported across his privately owned border crossing, according to a lawsuit filed on Tuesday.

The 15-page action filed in U.S. District Court criticizes MDOT director Kirk Steudle, claiming decisions to prevent materials that include corrosives, flammable liquids and explosive materials from being shipped by truck over the bridge has cost Moroun millions of dollars in lost truck tolls.

Trucks carrying hazmat — short for hazardous material — must instead use Sarnia’s Bluewater Bridge or the Detroit-Windsor truck ferry, which have proper equipment and permits in place to deal with a spill or an accident.

The company is arguing that MDOT — the state’s transportation authority — has legal jurisdiction of its own roads only and not the bridge, which Moroun has owned since 1979.

“MDOT does not have jurisdiction over the Ambassador Bridge,” the lawsuit said.

“The Ambassador Bridge is privately owned and is not a state trunkline highway.”

The company’s lawyer Michael Cox is asking that the existing restrictions be declared “void” by the federal court.

The court papers also allege Michigan State police under Steudle’s orders have detained trucks carrying hazardous materials coming off the bridge and issued citations.

Windsor’s city hall, local political leaders and fire chief Bruce Montone reacted with alarm in 2012 when the initial recommendations to lift the ban were released.

They expressed fears around safety and environmental impacts should an accident involving a truck carrying hazmat or spill occur on the bridge.

They believed a hazmat incident would be nearly impossible for emergency responders to reach on the bridge and would have little ability to prevent contamination of the Detroit River.

The 87-year-old four-lane Ambassador Bridge has no water and few safety capabilities, according to the city.

The city in a report said there were 67 traffic accidents on the Canadian portion of the bridge between 2007 and 2011.

Chief Montone did not wish to discuss the litigation Wednesday, but said the fire department’s view about hazmat on the bridge “hasn’t changed.”

“We have concerns relative to the bridge infrastructure and inability to protect it should something happen,” Montone said. “Not everything is a fire, but (spilled) dangerous goods — corrosive, poisonous, toxic materials — pose a threat to the environment. Not just the river, but the area surrounding it.”

With no water available on the bridge and no spill containment infrastructure in place “our challenges are significant,” in the event of accident, he said.

Truck ferry operator Gregg Ward on Wednesday said Moroun is “prioritizing money over public safety and security” by filing the lawsuit. The issue was just reviewed with all sides stating their case and the ban was kept in place in 2014, he said.

“This is about economic security for two nations,” Ward said. “If something happens to that structure before the Gordie Howe bridge is built it could damage the economies permanently. This is a selfish action.”

Ward’s ferry handles the equivalent of 40 to 50 trucks daily on average carrying hazardous materials collecting tolls what he described equate to “what we do in a week, (Moroun) does in an hour on the bridge.”

“It’s not a huge volume, so why increase the risk,” Ward said. “It’s unbelievable he would put such a minor amount of traffic in front of safety. You have alternatives in place, so why not continue to use them.”