<\/p>\n
Detroit lost a growing business this month and Detroit politicians cheered. The blue-collar jobs that Detroit Bulk Storage supports at its Detroit River loading dock will disappear this fall after U.S. Congressmen Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township,<\/b>\u00a0and John Conyers, D-Detroit, and state House Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, protested the loading of a coal-like energy source, petroleum coke, on barges for export to power plants. The Democratic frontrunner for Michigan\u2019s 2014 Senate seat, Peters is already using his \u201cvictory\u201d in a campaign ad to raise money.<\/p>\n
But what about Detroit\u2019s business base?<\/p>\n
The loss of the pet coke loading business comes as Detroit also mourns the death of dynamic American Axle CEO Richard Dauch, coincidentally a few months after union intransigence had forced the demise of his huge Detroit auto parts plant at a loss of 300 jobs.<\/p>\n
As Detroit struggles through bankruptcy, the Detroit Bulk Storage and American Axle stories are grim reminders of how political and union leadership still hinder job creation in Detroit. They are a lesson beyond Detroit\u2019s borders. If Motown is to put Chapter 9 in its rear view mirror \u2014 and if America is to jump-start its economy \u2014 then its political class must partner with business to grow, not use it as a political punching bag.<\/p>\n
Detroit\u2019s riverfront is a tremendous geographic advantage, linking it to Great Lakes region that supports\u00a0$500 billion in commerce<\/a>. Products like coke, coal, gravel, and steel are loaded on ships bound for local and international markets. Pet coke production, a byproduct of Canadian oil sands refining at Marathon Oil\u2019s huge refinery in southwest Detroit, promises more Great Lakes business, especially for Detroit\u2019s struggling waterfront.<\/p>\n But the growing Detroit business has run smack into the green, anti-carbon agenda of Democratic politicians.<\/p>\n Environmental concerns are an important part of industrial site location, and with Detroit\u2019s industrial waterfront abutting urban neighborhoods, conflict is inevitable. But rather than bringing all sides to the table to balance business and neighborhood concerns, Peters & Co. exploited pet coke storage for political gain \u2014 scaring residents about the product\u2019s environmental impact and ultimately driving the business out of state.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t know what kind of long-term risks pet coke poses to public health and we don\u2019t know what kind of long-term effects it will have on the Great Lakes,\u201d exclaims Peters in a fundraising email. \u201cThat\u2019s why I\u2019m fighting for a study on the long-term effects of this pet coke.\u201d That\u2019s pure demagoguery aimed at impressing rich, green Democratic donors \u2014at the expense of small business. It\u2019s part of a larger Democratic war against Canadian oil sands that has postponed the Keystone XL pipeline and cost the struggling U.S. economy 20,000 potential jobs.<\/p>\n Pet coke \u2014 like its cousin coal \u2014 is a known, carbon-rich commodity that the EPA has judged non-toxic. Indeed, millions of tons of coal make their way across American waterways on the way to power plants. Detroit Bulk Storage itself also stores coal and has abided by all state and EPA regulations governing pet coke storage. Yet Tlaib rages that Bulk Storage is \u201cillegally dumping\u201d pet coke.<\/p>\n Peters \u2014 who once proclaimed himself a proponent of small business \u2014 might have explained this to his Detroit constituents. But instead\u00a0he has convened<\/a>\u00a0community \u201cround-table discussions\u201d that excluded Detroit Bulk Storage.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t think other businesses aren\u2019t taking note. Indeed, Bulk Storage has lost its pet coke business. Tired of the hassle, Koch Carbon, which loads the pet coke on its barges for export, is taking the business out of state \u2014 likely to Ohio\u2019s Great Lakes ports.<\/p>\n