I'm near the river about 5 miles down from the spill. Devastating. Not sure how many river miles from spill ground zero to the Morrow Pond dam, but it seems it'll all be ruined for years to come. It's an oil slick at both bridges I checked yesterday, maybe more oil for the available water volume than the Gulf disaster. All fish, wildlife and plants impacted for all those river miles, amazing. They are speaking of volunteers to help with such possible tasks as cleaning oil off wildlife, but there's certain training involved I think. And we can't clean off the fish, or even if we coud they are already dead or dying. On a more selfish note, the K'zoo from Augusta to Galesburg was often the best river pike float in the region in my view. Not anymore.
The company is called Enbridge. I saw an interesting article this morning about the history of spills and enbridge, but i can't find it right now, so i am posting the list from Wikipedia… may not be as accurate. They seem to have a history of spilling, nothing near this magnitude however. I know its part of the pipeline business, but…
On July 4, 2002 an Enbridge pipeline ruptured in a marsh near the town of Cohasset, Minnesota in Itasca County, spilling 6,000 barrels (~250,000 gallons) of crude oil. In an attempt to keep the oil from contaminating the Mississippi River, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources set a controlled burn that lasted for 1 day and created a smoke plume about 1 mile high and 5 miles long.[9]
In 2006, there were 67 reportable spills totaling 5,663 barrels on Enbridge's energy and transportation and distribution system; in 2007, there were 65 reportable spills totaling 13,777 barrels [10]
On March 18, 2006, approximately 613 barrels of crude oil were released when a pump failed at Enbridge's Willmar terminal in Saskatchewan.[11] According to Enbridge, roughly half the oil was recovered, the remainder contributing to 'off-site' impacts.
On January 1, 2007 an Enbridge pipeline that runs from Superior, Wisconsin to near Whitewater, Wisconsin cracked open and spilled ~50,000 gallons of crude oil onto farmland and into a drainage ditch.[12] The same pipeline was struck by construction crews on February 2, 2007, in Rusk County, Wisconsin, spilling ~126,000 gallons of crude. Some of the oil filled a hole more than 20 feet deep and was reported to have contaminated the local water table.[13]
In April 2007, roughly 6,227 barrels of crude oil spilled into a field downstream of an Enbridge pumping station near Glenavon, Saskatchewan. Long-term site remediation is being attempted to bring the site to "as close as possible to its original condition".[11]
In 2009, Enbridge Energy Partners, a US affiliate of Enbridge Inc., agreed to pay $1.1 million to settle a lawsuit brought against the company by the state of Wisconsin for 545 environmental violations.[14] In a news release from Wisconsin's Department of Justice, Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen said "…the incidents of violation were numerous and widespread, and resulted in impacts to the streams and wetlands throughout the various watersheds."[15] The violations were incurred while building portions of the company's Southern Access pipeline, a ~$2.1 billion project to transport crude from the oil sands region in Alberta to Chicago.
In January 2009 an Enbridge pipeline leaked about 4,000 barrels of oil southeast of Fort McMurray at the company's Cheecham Terminal tank farm. It was reported in the Edmonton Journal that most of the spilled oil was contained within berms, but that about 1% of the oil, about 40 barrels, sprayed into the air and coated nearby snow and trees.[16]
April 2010 an Enbridge pipeline ruptured spilling more than 1500 litres of oil in Virden, Manitoba, which leaked into the Boghill Creek which eventually connects to the Assiniboine River.[17]
July 2010, a leaking pipeline spilled an estimated 19,500 barrels of crude oil into Talmadge Creek leading to the Kalamazoo River in southwest Michigan on Monday, July 26. [18]
I also read, in the same article, the statements from the Enbridge official from the area. I was not impressed. she had a list of "I don't knows" to all sorts of very pertinent questions, like: How much oil, Is it stopped, how are you going to clean it up, when will it stop…
im sure she is having a very bad day!
"Hamilton Reef" said:
The Kalamazoo Watershed, AOC, DNR fishery staff and local communities have worked so hard for decades to slowly make progress to clean up the river. EPA now estimating over 1M Gal spilled.
If any dumb oil politician dare apologize to Enbridge Energy……drown the sob in the oil.
Yes, thinking back, it seems there was always some kind of improvement happening on the K-zoo river… Only to have THIS happen. Damn shame. What idiot runs a pipeline that close to a major river anyways? If it was out in the middle of a wilderness, yeah, still a big problem. But at least it would stay somewhat contained. Now it's rushing downstream through countless counties.
"mskyprey" said:
This morning all the launch sites are closed at Morrow and the cleanup people are at the park. Didnt know who to contact to volunteer to help-anyone have any contacts?
Bill, if you find something about volunteering let me know. I need something to do on my days off until the lakes cool back off anyways.
The numbers I've seen to offer help are:
"Official assistance number" (whatever that is) – 1-800-306-6837
Circle D Wildlife Refuge – 269-365-5349
Matt Davis (not sure who he's with) – 269-781-8114/email ** you do not have permission to see this link **
There's a drop off for towels etc. at a church in Marshall too, I'll be stopping by there. Also a Facebook group called Kalamazoo River Oil spill.
The company has that history of spills, violations and fines, yet not sure what good the regulators do when the slaps on the wrist still don't stop a company like this from doing whatever they want to not spend much on maintaining old pipelines. So far the more I've read the more it seemed inevitable. So while it's true the company is most responsible, it'd be good to get something more for our tax dollars from the Government inspection/protection entities supposedly there for this purpose.
One example of activities in progress.
EPA STAKEHOLDER BRIEFING ON ENBRIDGE OIL SPILL
This evening, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials will hold a briefing for stakeholders about the ongoing response to the Enbridge oil spill in Michigan’s Kalamazoo River.
WHO: Mark Durno, EPA deputy incident commander
WHEN: 8:00 p.m. EDT, July 29, 2010
CALL-IN: 866-299-3188, conference code 3123531159
On Monday, July 26, a 30-inch pipeline belonging to Enbridge Inc. burst in Marshall, Michigan, leaking an estimated one million gallons of crude oil into Talmadge Creek, a waterway that feeds the Kalamazoo River. While the oil leak has stopped, the spill has affected up to 25 miles of the Kalamazoo River. The spill site, located between Marshall and Battle Creek, includes marshlands, residential areas, farmland and businesses.
The focus of the Unified Command, led by EPA, is to prevent oil from the Enbridge spill from affecting sensitive shorelines and, ultimately, keeping the oil out of Lake Michigan. EPA has assumed the role of On-scene Coordinator of the response and has overseen the ongoing deployment of more than 30,000 feet of boom, the establishment of more than 20 containment facilities and the movement of multiple assets into the area, including EPA vacuum trucks and vessels. EPA has launched an air monitoring effort along the river to determine air quality impacts of the spill and secured up to $2 million dollars for the response. EPA has also established a Web site at <url url="[Permission to view this media is denied]
">** you do not have permission to see this link ** to provide daily information about the response.
CONTACT:
Jeff Kelley (** you do not have permission to see this link **)
U.S. EPA Region 5
Phone: 312-353-1159
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aug. 16, 2010
Contact: Michigan Oil Spill Media Center, 888-363-8632
Lake Allegan Fish Kill Investigation Complete; DNRE Estimates Less Than 200 Fish Affected
The Unified Command for the Kalamazoo River oil spill today announced that the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment estimates 168 fish and hundreds of freshwater mussels died as a result of a drawdown of Lake Allegan, a six-mile-long reservoir on the Kalamazoo River.
The lake was drawn down by Consumers Energy based on a request by federal, state and local government agencies to act as an emergency oil collection site in the event of a heavy rainfall during the cleanup of oil on the Kalamazoo River. An oil spill was detected on the river on July 26 as a result of a pipeline rupture.
"When we saw evidence of a fish kill in Lake Allegan, we immediately worked to minimize any further impact on fish and freshwater mussels," said Jim Dexter, DNRE Lake Michigan Basin coordinator for the Fisheries Division. "The DNRE is continuing its work recovering wildlife and monitoring fish populations in the affected part of the river."
While they have little food value for humans, freshwater mussels are important in the food chain of a river system, serving as a source of food for otters, muskrats and raccoons. Mussels are also important natural filters that can improve water quality by straining out suspended particles and pollutants.
As a part of the DNRE investigation into the impact on the fish and freshwater mussels of Lake Allegan after the reservoir was drawn down, approximately 500 mussels were collected by DNRE Fisheries personnel. Live mussels collected were returned to the water. Thousands of mussels were dewatered for a period of days and died as a result of exposure to the air – not because of oil contamination, Dexter emphasized.
Investigation of the fish kill in Lake Allegan resulted in an estimate of 168 individual fish that were stranded during the drawdown and died as a result of the incident. Fish losses were relatively minor as a result of the drawdown of Lake Allegan, which is a 1,550-acre lake. The species observed were consistent with the composition of fish in Lake Allegan, according to records held by DNRE Fisheries Division – mainly common carp, yellow bullhead and bluntnose minnows were affected.
Lake Allegan was brought back up to normal pool depth within 10 days of beginning the drawdown, as oil containment measures strengthened further downstream and to minimize the impact of the fisheries in the lake. For more information on the oil spill, please go to <url url="[Permission to view this media is denied]
">** you do not have permission to see this link **.
The Department of Natural Resources and Environment is committed to the conservation, protection, management, and accessible use and enjoyment of the state's environment, natural resources, and related economic interests for current and future generations. Learn more at <url url="[Permission to view this media is denied]
">** you do not have permission to see this link **.
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