Enbridge Spills Oil Into Kalamazoo River

By
Gabriel Caplett
– 07/27/2010

Enbridge, the Canadian company constructing a new oil pipeline from the controversial Alberta Tar Sands to Superior, Wisconsin has caused a massive 840,000 gallon oil spill at a pipeline running through southwest Michigan.Line 6B of Enbridge’s Lakehead System was carrying oil from Indiana to Sarnia, Ontario and ruptured near Marshall, causing thousands of gallons of oil to gush into Tallmadge Creek, a tributary of the Kalamazoo River.  Oil has already spilled 16 miles downstream, killing and injuring wildlife.  Meanwhile, a state of emergency has been declared.

Health Officer Jim Rutherford from the Calhoun County Public Health Department said there are serious public health concerns with the oil spill. 

“It’s not going to show up right now, but over time there is a real possibility that it will leach into the water supply,” Rutherford said.  “I think it’s inevitable that, with as much as has leaked, that it will get into the water supply.”

“This is something that we will be monitoring for a long time.”

Residents are being urged to stay away from the river, due to air quality concerns from the toxin benzene and the flammability of the river.

The Huffington Post is reporting Enbridge’s spill as among the largest in Midwest history.

Enbridge has a history of carelessness in operating its oil pipelines.

According to Winona LaDuke, from 1992 to 2008 Enbridge’s Tar Sands pipeline (under multiple owners) leaked at least 478,000 gallons of crude oil, with little clean-up.  Enbridge currently spills an average of about 7,350 barrels of oil a year, with most of it spilled in Canada.  In some cases, the federal government grants pipeline companies exemptions to operate their pipelines under higher pressure than the law allows.

Nonetheless, both the Leech Lake and Fond du lac Ojibwe tribes accepted payments from Enbridge allowing the pipeline to cross reservation lands.  Leech Lake accepted $10, while Fond du Lac accepted a rumored $17.


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