Governor Granholm says response to a massive oil spill into the Kalamazoo River has been "anemic". During a news conference in Battle Creek on Tuesday, July 27^th, the governor urged federal officials and the company that owns the pipeline that leaked the oil to step up their containment efforts. We hear more from WMUK's Andy Robins:

The pipeline from Indiana to Sarnia, Ontario, began leaking Monday night near Marshall. Before it was shut down an estimated 840,000 gallons of crude oil poured into a creek that runs into the Kalamazoo River. The CEO of Texas-based Enbridge Energy Partners which owns the pipeline says the company takes "full responsibility" for the spill and will compensate affected property owners. But Patrick Daniel had an optimistic take on containment efforts:

"We feel pretty confident that we now have it contained. It may go a little further but there's no longer a source of crude oil feeding it as we've got that totally shut off. So we don't anticipate it'll go much further."

Patrick says crews have rigged booms across the Kalamazoo River at several points in Calhoun County to contain the oil so it can be vacuumed from the water. But Governor Granholm says a helicopter flight over the river Tuesday convinced her that much more must be done:

"A lot more skimmers, a lot more boom. There is not enough resources right now on the river to contain the spill to the level that we would feel comfortable. And I think it is safe to say that we are all deeply concerned."

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is in charge of the containment and clean-up effort. The governor says she saw oil on the water only a few miles from Morrow Lake in eastern Kalamazoo County, beyond the point at which Enbridge officials said it had stopped. Granholm says the spill must be contained before it reaches Morrow Lake or the consequences will be even more severe:

"The last thing any of us want to see is a smaller version of what has happened in the Gulf happen in our water system, in the Great Lakes waters, anywhere approaching Lake Michigan. So we have got to stop the spread of the crude right now."

Calhoun County officials have closed the river at the pipeline and points west to swimming, boating and fishing. Kalamazoo County officials are expected to take similar action Wednesday from the County line to the west end of Morrow Lake. Calhoun County Health Department spokesman Jim Rutherford says only two homes near the river have been evacuated because of the spill. He says his department and Enbridge are both monitoring air quality in the area:

"Uh, we're satisfied to date with the results of said air testing. We have relocated approximately 25 individuals that have complained of issues. Uh, there's a lot of people that are more vulnerable to some of the toxicity that's being released by the chemicals, um, some people with compromised immunity, children, the elderly with asthma, and such. So, we have relocated to areas we have secured in the County."

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says it will begin rescuing birds and other animals caught in the oil spill later today. State officials and Enbridge's president say that it will take several months to completely mop up the mess. No estimate on how much that will cost has been announced. The cause of the leak that caused the mess is still under investigation.

Updated at 11:50 p.m. 7/27/10:

Governor Granholm says response to a massive oil spill into the Kalamazoo has been "anemic". During a news conference in Battle Creek Tuesday evening, the governor urged federal officials and the company that owns the pipeline that leaked the oil to step up containment efforts. The pipeline is owned by Enbridge Energy Partners based in Houston, Texas. It runs from Indiana to a refinery in Sarnia, Ontario. The pipeline began leaking Monday evening and eventually dumped an estimated 840,000 gallons of crude oil into a creek that flows into the river near Marshall. That triggered emergency declarations by officials in Calhoun and Kalamazoo counties.

Enbridge President and CEO Patrick Daniel says his company takes full responsibility for the spill and will compensate affected property owners. Patrick says the cause of the leak is still under investigation by Enbridge and federal officials. The pipeline was built in 1969 and was last inspected in 2009. Patrick says the pipeline shutdown automatically when the pressure dropped. He says booms have been laid across the river to contain the oil so it can be vacuumed from the water.

According to Patrick the oil slick has traveled only 16 miles downstream from the leak. But Governor Granholm disputes that. She flew over the river in a helicopter with other officials Tuesday evening and says they saw an oil sheen on the water only four miles from Morrow Lake in Kalamazoo County. Granholm says the company and the EPA need to put a much larger number of barriers in place to prevent the spill from spreading further. She says the last thing Michigan and the Great Lakes need is a smaller version of the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

Calhoun County Health Department spokesman Jim Rutherford says only two homes and about 25 people have been relocated because of the spill. He says his department is continually monitoring air quality near the river. There was a strong odor of petroleum on the I-194 Bridge over the Kalamazoo River Tuesday evening. Rutherford says the river has been closed to swimming, fishing and boating from the pipeline to the western Calhoun County line until further notice. He says Kalamazoo County officials are expected to close the river up to the west end of Morrow Lake Wednesday morning.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials say a center to help animals caught in the oil spill will open Wednesday. An FWS spokeswoman says "several dozen" animals, mostly ducks and geese, have been affected. But she says fish kills are also a possibility.

No estimate of the cost of the oil clean-up has been announced. But bother Governor Granholm and Enbridge officials admit it will probably take several months to completely mop up the spill.


Home Pledge Events Contact Us Map Music Logs Search Interact