Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Michigan oil spill largest in Midwest history

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/27/michigan-oil-spill-among_n_661196.html

Add one more for good measure

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: