GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Enbridge Energy Partners, the company that owns a ruptured pipeline, which, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, has spilled more than 1 million gallons of oil in Southwest Michigan's Talmadge Creek and Kalamazoo River, was cited at least 30 times for safety violations by the EPA since 2002.
In addition, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, a regulatory agency under the Department of Transportation, told the Associated Press that it has been pressing the company to fix major corrosion problems in its pipeline system since last January.
According to the agency, Enbridge had failed to fix more than 200 corrosion-related problems on the pipeline discovered in 2009 alone.
The spill occurred just months after federal regulators ordered pipeline companies, including Enbridge, to update their spill response plans, and after it sought an extension from the government on dealing with its ongoing corrosion problems.
In a press conference Aug. 2, Enbridge executives refused to discuss causes of the massive spill and evaded reporters' questions about their plans to restart the pipeline.
The EPA ramped up its cleanup efforts with the provision of $13 million for the work this past week. More than 200,000 feet of boom is on hand, and over 700 workers and volunteers have worked to capture more than 400,000 gallons of the spill so far, government officials said. Officials expressed concerns that potential flooding caused by expected rainstorms may widen the spread of the spill.
They expressed optimism that toxicity in the air has been reduced and that clean-up of water, land, and wildlife is continuing quickly. However, it will take months for scientists to discover the full impact of the spilled oil on area ground water.
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration officials told reporters that it is too early to say if the fracture in the pipeline that caused the spill corresponds with any of the more than 200 corrosion unresolved issues raised with Enbridge Energy Partners in the past year. They did say, however, that issue is a part of their ongoing investigation.
The oil spill may have begun as early as 5:58 pm on Sunday, July 25, when Enbridge employees received an alarm signaling a drop in pressure on their pipeline. After 9:00 pm, July 25, Marshall, Michigan area residents called 9/11 call centers complaining about the smell of gas. Firefighters responded but couldn't immediately discover the source of the odor. The following day, local energy company employees discovered the leak alerting law enforcement officials and Enbridge employees, according to a preliminary timeline provided by National Transportation Safety Board investigators.
The spill, which initiated on land and spread to Talmadge Creek and the Kalamazoo River, has so far affected about 10 miles of the Kalamazoo River and some fear it may spill into Lake Michigan.
Photo: At least 1 million gallons spilled into Talmadge Creek and the Kalamazoo River in southwest Michigan, July 25. (by The Sierra Club, courtesy Flickr)
