Kalamazoo River Oil Spill (PHOTOS): Cleanup Efforts Underway In Michigan

The Kalamazoo River oil spill has resulted in more than 800,000 gallons of spilled oil in southern Michigan since Monday.

It is already one of the worst oil spill disasters in the history of the Midwest U.S., and led to county officials declaring a state of emergency. Birds and fish have been coated by oil as a result of the spill, which began in a creek and flowed into the Kalamazoo.

Cleanup efforts are ongoing to contain the spill. More from the AP:

Authorities in Battle Creek and Emmett Township warned residents about the strong odor from the oil, which leaked Monday from a 30-inch pipeline built in 1969 that carries about 8 million gallons of oil per day from Griffith, Ind., to Sarnia, Ontario.

Crews waded in oily water as they worked to stop the oil's advance downstream. Oil-covered Canada geese walked along the banks of the Kalamazoo River, and photos showed dead fish floating in the spill. The Kalamazoo River eventually flows into Lake Michigan, but officials didn't expect the oil to reach the lake.

"This is just a disaster," said Raymond Woodman, 33, of Emmett Township, who watched workers use a vacuum truck to suck oil from the water at the Ceresco Dam, downstream from leak. "It shouldn't matter how much it costs to clean this up. They need to clean it up."

Calgary, Alberta-based Enbridge Inc.'s affiliate Enbridge Energy Partners LP of Houston estimated about 819,000 gallons of oil spilled into Talmadge Creek before the company stopped the flow. Enbridge crews and contractors deployed oil skimmers and absorbent booms to minimize its environmental impact.

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Michigan River Oil Spill

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John Corcoran, center, and Cam Meyers, right, watch from the 15 Mile Road bridge as oil flows in the Kalamazoo River Tuesday, July 27, 2010, in Marshall, Mich. Crews were working Tuesday to contain and clean up more than 800,000 gallons of oil that poured into a creek and flowed into the Kalamazoo River in southern Michigan, coating birds and fish. An estimated 877,000 gallons (3.3 million liters) of oil leaked from a pipeline into the river. (AP Photo/The Kalamazoo Gazette, Jonathon Gruenke)

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John Corcoran, center, and Cam Meyers, right, watch from the 15 Mile Road bridge as oil flows in the Kalamazoo River Tuesday, July 27, 2010, in Marshall, Mich. Crews were working Tuesday to contain and clean up more than 800,000 gallons of oil that poured into a creek and flowed into the Kalamazoo River in southern Michigan, coating birds and fish. An estimated 877,000 gallons (3.3 million liters) of oil leaked from a pipeline into the river. (AP Photo/The Kalamazoo Gazette, Jonathon Gruenke)

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montanametalman said on 29 Thursday 2010 am31 3:57 am: The latest news on this seems to be that the EPA showed up and has stated that there are at least a million gallons spilled, the booms used are about a third of what the oil company 'Enbridge' claimed to have out for collection, and that the spill is 35 miles farther downstream than expected; meaning that it most likely happened earlier than originally reported. As someone who previously kayaked parts of this ecosystem, I am frustrated with mankind's apparent inability to tame oil spills.

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Comments

[Davest]

12:21 PM on 08/14/2010

Bah, we don't need to upgrade our failing infrastructure, Let's attack Iran!

[M Miles]

09:33 AM on 08/13/2010

Look at the mess of 80K barrels of oil in the Michigan spill. Think about millions of barrles of oil that has been spilled in the Gulf, compare the two. The magnitude of the Gulf spill is how many times greater. Huge amounts of oil no one knows where that oil has gone? This is a national emergency!

Where is the Federal Government are they taking the ostrich approach and hiding their head in the sand so they will get a better view of things. Need help contact your State Representative,

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

[justcheckin]

06:29 PM on 07/31/2010

This morning a group of people came to rescue the wildlife and help with the cleanup. The oil company and the Michigan department of Fisheries stopped them, and took the birds they were cleaning. Why?

[M Miles]

09:41 AM on 08/13/2010

Contact your State Representative and demand an answer. You pay the salary of the State Representative. You can always vote for someone else if their answer is not satisfactory. Let your friends know what action your State Representative took, good or bad. . . .

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

http://www.house.gov/

[YourMoralCompass]

11:13 AM on 07/30/2010

Wholly inadequate....

[Troy Denne]

11:01 AM on 07/31/2010

I find the american lust for oil is destroying our planet, the americans should be held responsible as a nation for there actions this is two major oil spills this summer alone on YOUR soil. maybe if you make the whole nation pay for these mistakes then they might stand up to there government for once and DEMAND a change. Im not anti american or anything of the sort i simply find alot of the things your government gets away with no other countries could... clean up your messes and maybe regulation on the placement of pipelines near waterways should be instituted.

[progressivegreg]

08:24 AM on 07/30/2010

I live in west Michigan! People in this area are being asked to "donate" supplies to help in the wildlife clean up! At the same time they have opened a shelter for people displaced by this spill. Where is the company that let this spill happened? Why are they not picking up the tab for this whole disaster and disruption of peoples lives? The folks forced to leave their homes should be put up in hotels and all clean up material should be paid for by this pipeline company. Our attorney general Mike Cox is running for governor and busy appearing on faux news supporting that idiotic Arizona law. Maybe he should think about doing his job for the people of Michigan, is this how he would behave as governor?

[Soule23]

04:02 PM on 07/30/2010

Mike Cox loves big corporations.

[Dana Bronson]

11:07 AM on 08/02/2010

Mike Cox cares, about his bank account!

[roofjoist]

04:08 PM on 07/30/2010

At least its been contained. I feel bad about the wildlife that has been killed except for those darn Canadian geese.

[Grant in Calgary]

11:04 PM on 07/29/2010

"Gallon of Gas" The Kinks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQtVPKZ58v4

[mikeykeat]

06:36 PM on 07/29/2010

The local population should excercise the right to amass their lawsuits and the responsible "self-regulated" culprit should be taken to the financial cleaners. And if they didn't carry the insurance that they should; then they should FAIL and DIE; and not be entitled to Tax Payer help like BP will. Take their check book and financially "Hang 'em high" like when simple residents are fined when their home heating oil tank leaks....ZERO TOLERANCE for polluters. Make AN EXAMPLE of them....

[thecanadian]

03:33 AM on 07/30/2010

Here is a starter "Hang em High"
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/29/scientists-find-evidence_n_664298.html

If this dispersant is used, that could cause many people to drink oil in their tap water.
You cannot filter that stuff out, read the article and you will see.

This is a Canadian Company - H.O. Calgary, Alberta.
©The Canadian Press, 2010
http://start.shaw.ca/start/enCA/News/NationalNewsArticle.htm?&src=HB28724.xml

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.
"When we look at this spill in Michigan, it shouldn't be that surprising that happened because of their track record, and the fact that they have 13,000 kilometres of oil pipeline streaking across Canada and the United States,"

[progressivegreg]

08:25 AM on 07/30/2010

Our republican attorney general is conspicuously absent!

[mikeykeat]

12:29 PM on 07/30/2010

All the attorney generals seem to be absent. Want to REALLY get angry; watch this regulator advise how many THEIVES he would have prosecuted if they let a pit bull like him ENFORCE the regulations we already have.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-HTylLzXu8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rz1b__MdtHY

We all seem to focus on "Deregulation" as the center of all our ills.....What good are more regulations if we are not going to PROSECUTE and ENFORCE the laws we have on the books...It breaks my heart that it seems that the DEMs have joined the Neo-Cons in being OWNED by Corporate Interests....And they all pee down our backs and tell us we are sweating.....

[judiNJ]

04:08 PM on 07/29/2010

And this is what happens when you have 16 years of no regulation or 'self regulation'. What is the next to break forth?

[mrJJ]

04:07 PM on 07/29/2010

7/29/10 11:20 AM
Inspection records for Enbridge pipeline spotty at best
Feds and company offer little information

Enbridge and government officials have refused to give details on the inspection record for the section of oil pipeline that sprung a leak in Marshall, Michigan this week, spilling more than 800,000 gallons of crude oil into a tributary of the Kalamazoo River.

more: http://michiganmessenger.com/40223/inspection-records-for-enbridge-pipeline-spotty-at-best

[Wolf1739]

04:13 PM on 07/29/2010

As of last night the estimate is now over 1 million gallons.

I know, right? Who would've thought that an oil company would short the estimate of how much oil they spilled into a waterway. I, for one, am just shocked.

[Grant in Calgary]

10:39 PM on 07/29/2010

Big difference between a 20% adjustrment and a 500% adjustment like the Gulf.

This was a pipeline, not a well. Pipelines are monitored and they know how much product is in the line and have a pretty good flow rate number. When they determine the actual start time and stop time of the pipeline leak, they will know pretty accurately how much was spilled.

This is NOT the Gulf. Its bad, but it's a pipeline, not a well. You will see corrections in the estimate as we go forward as data is analyzed. I can't believe anyone would try and intentionally snow the US Gov't in the wake of BP. And I'll guarantee you Enbridge doesn't have $20 billion.

DISCLAIMER: Yes I live in Calgary but I don't work in the oil industry.

[mikeykeat]

06:38 PM on 07/29/2010

This is no suprise. Let's see if these criminals are even fined to the level they should be; REGARDLESS of what regulations that they have broken.

[progressivegreg]

08:49 AM on 07/30/2010

Won't happen on the state level. Our attorney general Mike Cox is a neo con who also happens to be running for governor. God help Michigan!

[Wolf1739]

03:50 PM on 07/29/2010

Being reported today that an Enbridge employee (in an Enbridge truck) near the spill site was questioned Sunday night by Marshall Twp firefighters regarding a "strong petroleum smell" in the area. He told them that he thought it was coming from a Clark oil facility in the area. Enbridge doesn't admit to knowing anything about the spill until nearly 12 hours later when they finally shut down the pipeline.
It doesn't take any great conspiracy theory to deduce that the employee wasn't that close to the spill site at 11pm on a Sunday night for any normal reason.

This company needs to be held CRIMINALLY responsible for this mess!

[observingstupiditydaily]

12:21 PM on 07/29/2010

Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize that we can't eat money.
-Cree proverb
Sorry to be crude but this should be tattooed on the arse of every corporate CEO that has profited off the destruction of our world.

[YourMoralCompass]

12:31 PM on 07/29/2010

Favorited, Fanned, Friended and Followed - We have that as a bumper sticker on our hippie van.

[observingstupiditydaily]

10:28 PM on 07/29/2010

And to you as well, favorited, fanned, friended & followed. Did I tell you I'm jealous of your hippie van? lol

[observingstupiditydaily]

11:55 AM on 07/29/2010

I wonder if the Tea Partiers will allow BIG GOVT' to assist with the clean up? You can't have it both ways! You say you don't want interference and balanced budgets, did you take into account that without your BIG GOVT this country stops.

[HLL]

11:27 AM on 07/29/2010

"The World's Current Oil Spills, By the Numbers

(July 28) -- Oil, oil everywhere. It seems like the earth is having a hard time keeping it below ground these days.

With one active leak (in Barataria Bay, La.), two more still causing major problems (on the Kalamazoo River in Michigan and, of course, in the Gulf of Mexico) and one recently cleaned-up but disastrous spill in China, Surge Desk takes a look at the state of the world's oil spills, by the numbers....."

http://www.aolnews.com/surge-desk/article/the-worlds-current-oil-spills-by-the-numbers/19572581

I hope the congress will get off their butts and put the Earth first for a change. Time for clean green energy, made in the USA! ☮

[progressivegreg]

11:14 AM on 07/29/2010

From the A.P. 2 and a half minutes ago, 1,000,000 gallons of oil in the Kalamazoo river according to the EPA. (sigh)

[AlfredoENewman]

10:45 AM on 07/29/2010

Disasters of biblical proportions occurring could be an excuse for an agenda. OMG, help us. An appeal to heaven.