840,000 gallons of oil leak into creek

MARSHALL TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) - An estimated 20,000 barrels -- or 840,000 gallons -- of oil have leaked from a pumping station into the Tallmadge Creek south of Marshall, an official with the pumping station's owner said Monday evening.

The oil has moved into the Kalamazoo River at least as far as Ceresco, between Marshall and Battle Creek, as of 8 p.m. Monday. Oil could be seen coming down the dam in Ceresco and staining vegetation in the river.

An Enbridge Pipelines spokeswoman said she wasn't certain how far the oil had traveled as of 9 p.m. The pumping station is at 16000 Division Drive near the border of Marshall and Fredonia townships.

Neighbors alerted 24 Hour News 8 to oil-covered geese along the river between Marshall and Battle Creek.

"It just breaks your heart to see creatures suffering," Sherri McGee said. "It's just terrible. Somebody should be out here doing something."

Enbridge spokeswoman Terri Larson said the company is aware of the birds and is working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. People wanting to report endangered animals -- or any oil issues -- can contact Enbridge at 1-800-306-6837.

Crews were working to place barriers Monday night but we wondered: is the company confident the barriers were placed ahead of the oil?

"What I can say is we're bringing our full resources to bear to contain and resolve this situation. Everything we can throw at this we are throwing at this," Larson told 24 Hour News 8.

The process of closing valves to try to stop the leak started around 9:45 a.m. Monday, according to the spokeswoman, when employees noticed a drop in pressure in the pipeline.

Jim Blankenship, of Battle Creek, said he was in the Marshall area Sunday night and smelled oil "around 9 o'clock." He said he knew the smell from his work as a pilot, and knew the pipeline was there because he frequently saw it from the air.

"So I called 911," Blankenship said.

Enbridge was not notified at that time "to my knowledge," Larson said.

Despite the closed valves, any oil that remains in the affected section of pipe could still make it into the creek, Enbridge Liquids Pipelines regional general manager Tom Fridel said. As of 9 p.m., Larson said she didn't know if oil was still flowing into Tallmadge Creek.

Barriers were placed at the point where the creek flows into the Kalamazoo River, but 24 Hour News 8 spotted oil getting past the barriers and in the river Monday afternoon. Oil-stained plants and vegetation lined the banks of the river near the bridge at 15 Mile Road south of Marshall.

The leak prompted the evacuations of two homes and officials in nearby Emmett Township to issue a no fishing or swimming advisory for the Kalamazoo River.

But the Calhoun County emergency management director said there was no immediate drinking water threat.

The pipeline in question is 30 inches wide and carries 190,000 barrels of "light synthetics," heavy and medium crude oil from Griffith, Ind. Sarnia, Ontario, Canada each day, according to a company statement.

According to an Enbridge official, the pipeline is the largest in the world. It has been in operation for more than 50 years and supplies more than 60 percent of the crude for the Midwest, spokesman Larry Springer said.

Enbridge was inspecting parts of this pipeline when the leak happened, he said. Springer added Enbridge also had significant leaks in Canada and in Wisconsin in the past.

The company will send more staff to Calhoun County to work with local officials to get booms and skimmers in place to collect the oil, he said.

Police closed Jackson Street from 20th Street to Bedford Road as crews clean up the spill. Parts of Division Drive, 16 Mile Road and A Drive North in Marshall were still closed because of the leak as of late Monday evening.

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