Enbridge Says More Than One-Third of Crude in Michigan Spill Is Recovered
Enbridge Inc., which carries most of the oil imported to the U.S. from Canada, said more than a third of the crude oil that leaked from a ruptured pipeline in Michigan this week has been recovered.
Enbridge has removed 7,000 to 8,000 barrels of oil from the estimated 19,500 barrels that spilled, Steve Wuori, executive vice-president, Enbridge Liquids Pipelines, said today on a conference call with reporters.
The oil spilled July 26 from a breach in Line 6B into the Tallmadge Creek and flowed into the Kalamazoo River. The 30-inch pipeline is run by Enbridge Energy Partners LP. Line 6B can transport 190,000 barrels a day of light synthetic and heavy and medium crude oil between Sarnia, Ontario, and Griffith, Indiana, supplying refineries including plants operated by BP Plc, Imperial Oil Ltd. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc.
There has been a “significant reduction” in the amount of heavy oil in the waterways and no oil has been spotted on nearby Morrow Lake, the Calgary-based company said in a statement.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency acknowledged that while “remarkable progress” has been made in the cleanup, there is still “several months” of remediation effort needed, EPA On-Scene Coordinator Mark Durno said on the conference call today.
There will be “months, if not years” of monitoring needed of the spill site and the government will seek full reimbursement of its costs from Enbridge, he said.
Cleanup Costs
The EPA has authorized $5 million of its own money for the cleanup effort so far, but has no estimate for the total cost, said Susan Hedman, the agency’s regional administrator. The agency is not satisfied with the long-term work plan Enbridge has submitted because “technical details” are missing or “plans were much too general,” and has asked the company to submit a new plan by August 2, she said.
The damaged section of the pipe has been unearthed from the marshy terrain through which it runs and is no longer leaking oil, Enbridge officials said on the call. Company officials didn’t estimate when the pipeline would return to service.
Enbridge won’t be able to restart its 268-mile pipeline until it takes “corrective action,” the Department of Transportation said.
Enbridge does not yet have an estimate for the cost of the cleanup but will “make good” on legitimate claims of damage from the spill, Enbridge Chief Executive Officer Patrick Daniel said. “Our objective is to return the river to the same state as it was prior to the incident,” he said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Hugo Miller in Toronto at hugomiller@bloomberg.net.
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