COMSTOCK TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Cleanup efforts following
the leak of about 800,000 gallons of crude from an underground pipeline
in western Michigan are nearly complete, according to the Canadian oil
company that owns the pipeline.
Contaminated soil is expected to
be removed from the Morrow Lake delta near Comstock Township in
Kalamazoo County by mid- to late summer, Enbridge Inc. spokesman Jason
Manshum told the Kalamazoo Gazette (http://bit.ly/1y4ePle ) for a story Friday.
Crews will keep restoring riverbanks this fall.
Last
year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ordered Enbridge to
dredge sections of the Kalamazoo River to remove sediments tainted by
oil from the massive spill.
The leak was discovered in the
Kalamazoo River and Talmadge Creek near Marshall in July 2010. Oil
flowed about 35 miles before it was contained. An investigation by the
National Transportation Safety Board determined the rupture was caused
by cracks and corrosion, and the agency faulted Enbridge for failing to
take steps that might have prevented it.
The state said last month
in a public health assessment that there’s no long-term harm to
people’s health from coming into contact with chemicals in the river’s
surface water during wading, swimming or canoeing. But contact with the
oil sheen in the river may cause temporary effects such as skin
irritation.
The state also said oil-related chemicals levels in fish are very low.
Enbridge
is replacing and enlarging the line, part of a $2.6 billion project to
boost the flow of oil to refineries in the eastern U.S. and Canada.
"We’re
bringing in soils and native plants and trees to make a nice green
space like it would look if there had never had been a spill there,"
Manshum said.
The company will conduct periodic environmental monitoring, he added.
The
state is overseeing restoration efforts closer to the site of the
rupture. That work involves tapering the riverbank, creating habitats
for fish and installing brush.