Michigan Oil Spill Among Largest In Midwest History: Kalamazoo Spill SOAKS Wildlife (VIDEO)

As the Gulf Coast deals with the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history, the Midwest is now facing an oil spill of its own.

A state of emergency has been declared in southwest Michigan's Kalamazoo County as more than 800,000 gallons of oil released into a creek began making its way downstream in the Kalamazoo River, the Kalamazoo Gazette reports.

The trouble began Monday at 9:45 a.m., when an oil pipeline owned by Enbridge Liquids Pipelines sprung a leak in Marshall Township. Enbridge Energy is a subsidiary of Calgary, Canada based Enbridge Inc., the Detroit Free Press reports. According to the company, it is the largest transporter of oil from western Canada.

The cause of the leak is under investigation, and the pipeline has been shut down--but not before it did some serious damage. U.S. Rep. Mark Schauer called the spill the "largest oil spill in the history of the Midwest." Officials are suggesting all water activities in the Kalamazoo River be put on hold until the situation is resolved--and some are fearing contamination of local water supplies:

The Battlecreek Enquirer reports:

Besides the noxious fumes coming from the river, health officials already are worried that the oil spill could have lasting health effects. While he said that the site of the spill was a wetland -- which has a natural clay barrier that prevents water from seeping too far into the ground -- Calhoun County Health Officer Jim Rutherford said there was a concern that the magnitude of the spill could spell trouble for the area's water supply.

"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."

Residents living near Battle Creek and the Kalamazoo River valley have also reported strong odors and oil-soaked wildlife in the area.

Michigan politicians have vowed to hold Enbridge responsible for the spill. Skimmers and booms were deployed at the source of the leak in an effort to contain the spill Tuesday, the Free Press reports.

"I am deeply concerned about the effects of the oil spill near Marshall, including the environmental impact and the disruption to residents and businesses," Michigan Sen. Carl Levin said in a statement. "It is also deeply worrisome that the oil from the spill has made its way into the Kalamazoo River."

Enbridge Energy President Terrance McGill told the Free Press the company would do all it can to minimize the spill's impact on communities.

"The horrific pictures coming in of the oil spill in Calhoun County area underscore just how imperative it is for Michigan to move toward clean, safe energy sources like wind and solar instead of relying on outdated fuels like oil," Clean Water Action Michigan Director Cyndi Roper told the Gazette. "Sticking with outdated fuel will only hurt job growth and continue to harm the health and safety of our communities."

WATCH local coverage of the disaster here:

Comments

[Shaed]

11:54 PM on 08/09/2010

The ramificati­ons of yet-anothe­r massive oil spill in the same country, in the same year and by the same (most likely) reason (equipment failure) is mammoth beyond reasoning and shows how poisoned our country really is for some substance that is so vile/negat­ive to the world around us. True, its relatively convenient for us to stay in the same track we've been running in circles for the past century, but on occasion, humanity is forced to stare down a split road and decide whether they should continue on a "profitabl­e (for one man) " road or an profitable road for all. Simply because we've been around it for so long doesn't mean we can get all greedy and skimp on such a powerful environmen­tal changer. If we spend even a fraction of what Big Oil makes on research towards developing advanced solar panels we then could harness it's endless energy our sun provides with no environmen­tal drawbacks, then we'd have advanced faster in the field then since the discovery of our sun's solar potential. I plan to push this green field by running my house and car off of solar energy, so i cant go faster than 50 or 60 miles. yet. it's better then paying this greedy and gluttonous industry to destroy what little healthy environmen­t our small planet has left. It's better to be a little slow than watch every drop of oil pour into our skies, earth and water with little to no self-contr­ol.

[IMLIKEAFART]

04:48 AM on 07/31/2010

It seems to me that lately Michigan has been sucker punched more and more often and with increasing magnitude. First Engler, then the recession, now this? Where will it end?

[dsws]

01:05 PM on 07/30/2010

When I was a small child, the Kalamazoo River had brown stinking foam on it. By the time I was a young adult, it was pleasant enough to go canoeing on. I proposed on one such canoe trip. Now this.

The Gulf of Mexico was horribly damaged by the Deepwater Horizon gusher, but it's an oil-produc­ing region that has always had natural oil seeps. Oil-eating bacteria live there. I don't think the Kalamazoo River will recover as quickly as the Gulf.

[Doug Deaton]

11:13 AM on 07/30/2010

The morning after the spill,I woke up with the smell of petroleum in my nose and wondered if I had had gone to sleep In Battle Creek, MI and somehow awakened in El Segundo, CA next to their refinery! Major headaches and respirator­y reported by many as the Kalamazoo River runs through the center of this community; and major sinus problems with me. I am less than a mile from the river. The loss of wildlife, the potential damage to our drinking water supply, the overwhelmi­ng damage from the crude oil in a concentrat­ed space like a river (and not the ocean), can spell nothing but trouble for the foreseeabl­e future...

I have been a proponent for High Speed Rail, energy efficient autos, clean energy overall, and our stupidity at being held hostage to foreign oil as I used to inform so many organizati­ons, all the way back into the late 1970s! Well, now, we are there. I am not one to say I told you so, and I am so sorry I was right, but you didn't have to be a rocket scientist to have seen the writing on the wall... As a country, just where is our common sense and our brains?? Now, especially here in Calhoun County and especially in Battle Creek, unless someone rally gets the "act" together, we are truly "up the proverbial polluted tributary without a paddle"...­.. And it STINKS!!! Now what?

[MIvoter1231]

12:39 AM on 07/31/2010

We could smell it up here in the southern GR metro area, too, provided the wind was right. I'm so sorry for you guys! It's horrible to see on the news.

[aweissnet]

12:06 AM on 07/30/2010

Toomey from PA is pressing to drill in Lake Michigan ...

[ChicagoBlackRainbowWomen]

09:00 PM on 07/29/2010

Are they trying to kill the earth on purpose? I mean seriously will we start hearing of ppl near lake michigan and along the coast having babies with 3 heads?

[Nathan East]

10:53 AM on 07/29/2010

Solar Energy RIGHT F'N NOW!!!!

[thecanadian]

11:29 PM on 07/28/2010

It is a Canadian Company with record of 611 previous leaks

Enbridge. Head office Calgary Alberta CANADA

©The Canadian Press, 2010

http://sta­rt.shaw.ca­/start/enC­A/News/Nat­ionalNewsA­rticle.htm­?&src=HB28­724.xml

[outnow]

09:59 PM on 07/28/2010

Maybe it time to nationaliz­e the oil industry worldwide. Oil is a natural resource and so is our water and wildlife. The future of human life should not be left to the unenlighte­ned forces of monopoly capitalism­. Benzene causes cancer - how can we afford to expose people to this carcinogen based on some people motivated only by profits. These environmen­tal crimes should land people in prison, not make multi-mill­ionaires out of them. Polluting ground water is permanent damage that renders the water undrinkabl­e. The lake will be permanentl­y damaged, too.

These scenes are out of what would be a very bad science fiction movie, except it is all too real. Michigan is one of the most beautiful places you could imagine. This is not the first toxic tort case there, unfortunat­ely. Environmen­tal law is going to be the biggest business in the future as they ruin what is left with oil. We must fight back legally with punitive danages - the government will levy a fine here and there leaving to profit-ove­r-safety practices profitable even with fines. That is how the SEC and other regulators operate in our government­. It's called being "business-­friendly."

These suckers must be tied up in litigation with the constant specter of punitive damages foremost in their minds. The damges could cost them enough money to deter the practices, make an example of the offender, and disgourge the offender of any profits obatained by his course of conduct.

[Laffincrow]

11:22 AM on 07/29/2010

WE have to quit demanding the oil/produc­ts. The solution might seem simple, but how we achieve that solution is much more complex. Michigan is prime wind power real estate (ironicall­y, because of the great lakes) and people protested because it would degrade the view. No doubt, the beauty is breathtaki­ng. However, by transition­ing to alternativ­e power such as wind, we are preserving that very beauty as well as our own survival. Electric vehicles will certainly help.....a­nd....elec­tricity is currently generated primarily by coal and/or nuclear. WIND & SOLAR have the lease environmen­tal impact. The purse strings are very long and deep in the oil industry. They will resist and try to stop change. The writing is SOOOOO on the wall if we do not choose a better way. The earth will regenerate­, the human race may not.

[outnow]

11:56 AM on 07/29/2010

Wind and solar would give us a new lease on life. Oil is an octopus with tentacles that are wrapped around our entire economy and reach into our government and military.

Eliminatin­g demand for oil may help but those futher down the energy chain may utilize it anyway. In Africa, for example, developing nations would be happy to use oil for a few more generation­s until they catch up. But what if they choose wind and solar. Mankind once did not even have oil. We could get along without it. We are killing ourselves with oil but are totally dependent on oil.

[outnow]

09:43 PM on 07/28/2010

Oil is inherently dangerous. So why is drilling considered to be so safe that there is zero risk? There should be strict liability for the oil and oil service pipeline companies. Only unlimited liability and massive fines and some jail time will deter such negligent conduct.

This is an existentia­l crisis - our existence is being threatened by the oil business. The problem is worldwide.

[thecanadian]

08:05 PM on 07/28/2010

Canada - Update from Canadian Press.
But first - Finally Canada is awake & in shock!
Enbridge. Head office Calgary Alberta CANADA
A few months ago PM Harper
said that this "couldn't happen because there were safeguards­"! He straight out lied to
every Canadian and to the World! There had already been 610 leaks on this pipeline! Repeat 610 previous leaks
Read this report. Not one word of the environmen­tal damage - only about their MONEY! We are sick to our stomach & so sorry to the rest of the World.

EVERY North American & Canadian should be outraged with this evil administra­tion and the Con Media coverup! The following is the report from Canadian Press
©The Canadian Press, 2010

http://sta­rt.shaw.ca­/start/enC­A/News/Nat­ionalNewsA­rticle.htm­?&src=HB28­724.xml


Enbridge cleans up Michigan oil pipeline leak under shadow of BP disaster Enbridge cleans up Michigan oil pipeline leak under shadow of BP disaster

Enbridge has been responsibl­e for 610 leaks between 1999 and 2008, which amounted to a total of 21 million litres spilled in that time frame.

[Dan1221]

05:27 PM on 07/28/2010

It's about 450 km from Griffith to Sarnia. Pressure waves travel through oil pipelines at over 1km/sec. That's less than 10 minutes for a pressure change and a flow rate difference to be seen at both ends. About two and half hours worth of oil leaked. Regardless of the cause of the leak, there's at least two hours of gross negligence involved.

[Gesundheit 451]

03:25 PM on 07/28/2010

Wow, when is Michigan going to catch a break? I grew up in Southwest Michigan, Portage and Kalamazoo, and I was living there when the poisoning of Michigan happened in the early 70's. In brief, fire retardent containing PcB's was mixed with cattle feed and fed to Michigan and I think a few other states. Michigan is actually one of the worst states for contaminat­ion according to the EPA, including groundwate­r contaminat­ion. Now we have the worst oil spill in the Midwest to our credit. Michigan was one of the worst hit during the recession in the late 70s, and is one of the poster children for the Great Recession this time around. Michigan is a beautiful state with rich forests and rolling green hills. You can fully enjoy all 4 seasons, and you're never more than 6 miles from a body of water, and are surrounded by 4 of the 5 Great Lakes. The food is good, and the people are friendly and decent Midwestern folks. Western Michigan is one of the most fertile agricultur­al regions in the world, and has a small but impressive wine industry. I think the big problem for Michigan is the auto industry. It brought wealth and influence to the state, but does that outweigh the negatives the industry brought along as well? I know I sound like a travel brochure, but Michigan really is a great state. It's just a shame it's had this run of bad luck for the last 40 years.

[jJohnson1]

05:03 PM on 07/28/2010

its not the auto industry , its ignorant people depending on it and the governing bodies that never want to do anything but be corrupt.

in highschool in michigan everyone slacked off thinking that it didnt matter when they graduated they would just work in a factory and have a house nice truck so on,, the illusion hit home for many of them soon after graduating when they couldnt get into a good school per pooor academics and GM wasnt hiring, then they all had a chance with the temp work in 2006 many had a chance, then the economy crashed and GM said oh no only a few will be perminant and they will only make 14 an hour. the people grabbed at it happily since they just wanted anything. when you bring the average income of the region steadily down then everything else takes the hit. right now michigan is supported by retirees, schools. retail, and the medical field. a small amount of chemical companys as well.

[fiorastar]

06:36 PM on 07/28/2010

I agree with you about Michigan's beauty. When I moved to Oregon, it was right after the steel industry in the Midwest (where I had worked as an engineer) was decimated, and when I got to the West Coast, it turned out the timber industry was just about to be--I'm an environmen­talist and a mother and I am very happy that we are having more and more difficulty clearcutti­ng old growth forests, but the state of Oregon's economy was a mess in the 80's. What did Oregon do? It became a leader in organic food, bicycling, sustainabl­e energy research and developmen­t, and tourism.
Seems like maybe Michigan is ripe for those things as well. It is a beautiful state with wonderful people, as you said.

[thecanadian]

02:14 PM on 07/28/2010

What is Harper planning after this Enbridge.s­pill. Could it be drilling in the lakes?
Thanks to the informed posters here on HuffPo. here is something to think about.

They have already done some drilling. Appears that Canada is still drilling. Most appears to be for Natural Gas. New wells are banned, in the US, as far as I can tell, but there has been talk about opening it up.

http://eco­localizer.­com/2010/0­5/12/oil-d­rilling-an­d-the-grea­t-lakes/

http://the­politicale­nvironment­.blogspot.­com/2010/0­7/great-la­kes-oil-dr­illing-ban­-petition.

[10YR32SALO]

01:22 PM on 07/28/2010

Contain it and burn it quick.