Here are links to the EPA and Enbridge Energy Partners Web pages for the Kalamazoo River oil spill containment and clean-up effort. The official state Web page is here.

Updated 7:25 p.m., Thursday, July 29th:

Michigan Congressman Mark Schauer (D-Battle Creek) says he's introduced legislation that would force oil companies to quickly report spills and other incidents. Schauer has been a sharp critic of Enbridge Energy Partners' handling of the Kalamazoo River oil spill. He says his bill would also increase fines for companies that don't meet the time limit, and would require the U.S. Transportation Department to post a searchable database of reported incidents on its Web page.

Kalamazoo County officials have warned people to avoid contact with water in the Kalamazoo River east of the Morrow Lake dam, although the EPA says it hasn't found evidence that any "significant" amount of oil has reached the lake. The state Department of Natural Resources and Environment says the spill has not affected the Fort Custer Recreation Area near Augusta. Officials say the incident hasn't put a crimp in camping or hurt the quality of water in Eagle Lake. There is a ban on activity on the section of the Kalamazoo River that runs through the park, however.

Updated 6:00 p.m., Thursday, July 29th:

Officials at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency say about 80,000 gallons of crude oil has been removed from the Kalamazoo River. But they admit that there's a "long way to go" before the mess caused by a burst pipeline near Marshall earlier this week is completely cleaned up.

At a news conference in Battle Creek Thursday afternoon, executives of Enbridge Energy Partners, which owns the pipeline, said it planned to have 400 workers on clean-up duty in Calhoun County by Friday. They say that's up from only 100 on Wednesday. The company says 17 booms have been stretched across the river at points from the pipeline downstream to Morrow Lake in eastern Kalamazoo County. They say up to 16 additional booms could be placed in the area. According to Enbridge, 30 tanker trucks and 15 boats will be involved in the clean-up effort Thursday.

A spokesman for the company says it estimates that 816,000 gallons of crude wound up in the river. That's lower than the million-gallon figure used by some government officials, as well as earlier estimates that between 840,000 and 877,000 gallons were spilled.

Enbridge CEO Patrick Daniel disputed reports that his company knew about the leak last Sunday, more than 24 hours before local and state officials were told about it. Daniel also took issue with a charge by Congressman Mark Schauer (D-Battle Creek) that Enbridge had planned to replace the section of pipe that leaked but never followed through. Schauer pointed to a U.S. Transportation Department order that cited possible corrosion in parts of the "6B" pipeline from Griffith, Indiana, to Sarnia, Ontario. Daniel says the company worked closely with DOT and excavated the line at 139 points earlier this year. But he says no work was done at the site where the leak occurred because there was no indication of a problem there. Daniel says routine test data for that section will be reviewed again. The cause of the leak remains under investigation.

Federal officials have ordered Enbridge to keep the pipeline shutdown until it conducts a thorough safety assessment. Federal engineers must also give their approval before the line can be re-opened.

EPA site manager Ralph Bellhoff says there is no indication that any significant amount of oil has reached Morrow Lake in Kalamazoo County. He says most of the crude remains within ten miles of the leak point in Calhoun County. Bellhoff says the federal government has committed $2 million to help cover the cost of the clean up, although he says the government will seek to recover that money from Enbridge. The company says it is committed to paying for the clean up, which could take weeks or months. And Enbridge says it will compensate people and businesses "directly" affected by the spill. The EPA says the company could face daily fines of $37,500 per day, per infraction, if it fails to meet federal clean up standards.

Calhoun County health officials announced Thursday that people living in 30 to 50 homes near the Kalamazoo River have been evacuated. They say the action was taken because of concern about long-term exposure to benzene and other chemicals released into the air because of the spill. Government and company officials say air quality is being monitored daily in the affected area.

The EPA says it will deploy the research vessel Mud Puppy on Morrow Lake to keep an eye on any oil that might get that far.


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