How to be a responsible steward of Democracy, Human Rights Capitalism and Planet Earth.



HOW TO BE A RESPONSIBLE STEWARD OF PLANET EARTH


Creating a better world for all through social media activism

Saturday, July 28, 2012

UPDATE on the 2010 Enbridge Oil Pipeline Spill

             Kalamazoo River and Morrow Lake to Open


                                 
 Release Date: 06/21/2012
Contact Information: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Don de Blasio (deblasio.don@epa.gov) 312-343-6666

For Immediate Release: June 21, 2012

MARSHALL, Mich. June 21 -- Local, state and federal agencies responding to the Enbridge oil spill announced today that an additional 34 miles of the Kalamazoo River and the entire 2 miles of Morrow Lake are now open for recreational use.

Part of the area referred to as the Morrow Lake Delta is still closed. The closed portion will be identified by buoys. Those using the river should follow buoy restrictions for their own safety and the safety of workers still conducting cleanup.

Boaters will have to portage between a canoe launch on the delta and the River Oaks boat launch.

The newly opened portion stretches from Saylor’s Landing near 15 Mile Road and the Kalamazoo River in Calhoun County to Morrow Lake. This follows the April 18 opening of a nearly three-mile portion from Perrin Dam in Marshall to Saylor’s Landing, a new river access site near 15 Mile Road and the Kalamazoo River.

"The long wait to open most of the oil-damaged Kalamazoo River is now over -- just in time for summer," said Susan Hedman, EPA Region 5 Administrator. "EPA will remain in the Marshall area until the cleanup is completed."

“I am pleased that we are finally able to open a larger stretch of the river for people to use,” said James Rutherford, Calhoun County Public Health Director. “We know that people have been eager to get back and start using the river again.”

Linda Vail, director of the Kalamazoo County Health and Community Services Department, agreed.

“People want to use the river and riverside parks for recreation,” Vail said. “We want to make sure that they have a safe place to have fun.”

People could see sheen or flecks of oil in the river, even after this new portion is open. Sheen appears as a filmy or rainbow-like substance floating on the water surface.

Not all sheen is caused by oil. There are two general sources of sheen – petroleum-based and natural. On the Kalamazoo River, some sheen may come from the Enbridge oil spill, while some sheen may be caused by traditional sources such as motorboats and gasoline or motor oil that is washed away from parking lots and into the river system.

Natural sheen can occur by decomposition of vegetation. According to the U.S. Geologic Survey, oil-like films and rock coatings are often made by bacteria reacting to iron and manganese in the water. Both types of sheen appear similar floating on water.

According to recent Public Health Assessments, the Michigan Department of Community Health has concluded that contact with the submerged oil will not cause long-term health effects. At the same time, contact with the submerged oil may cause temporary effects, such as skin irritation.

Both county health departments and the Michigan Department of Community Health don’t expect any long-term health effects from people touching residual oil on the river or in the sediment, but there could be temporary effects such as skin irritation.

The health agencies recommend washing skin and clothes with plain soap and water as soon as possible after coming in contact with oil. Stations with cleaning wipes have been set up near kiosks at launch stations to clean skin and boating equipment.

Enbridge will continue to perform oil recovery, even after openings occur, under the direction of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.

People may encounter ongoing work activities at some locations along the river. They should use caution when involved in recreation around these work zones. They should obey all buoys and signage, and use only marked, public areas for accessing the river, and stay off private property.

While the cleanup is in its final stages, EPA and MDEQ are committed to remaining on-site as long as necessary to protect human health and the environment.

The river was closed from Perrin Dam in Calhoun County to the Morrow Lake Dam in Kalamazoo County in July 2010, after an Enbridge pipeline ruptured discharging oil into Talmadge Creek and the Kalamazoo River. Enbridge has estimated that it discharged 843,444 gallons of oil during this pipeline spill. The cause of the pipeline rupture is under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.
July 25 marks the second anniversary of the nation's most costly oil pipeline accident -- a rupture that dumped more than 1.1 million gallons of heavy crude into a creek that feeds Michigan's Kalamazoo River, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The spill occurred in Marshall, a community of 7,400 in southwestern Michigan. It drove 150 families permanently from their homes. The national spotlight never settled on their story -- perhaps in part because this spill occurred 10 days after BP Plc's Macondo well was finally capped after three months of spewing oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

Enbridge Energy Partners, a U.S. affiliate of Enbridge Inc., operated the pipeline. The company has spent more than $765 million cleaning up the spill.
Read the story by InsideClimate News.
Read more energy & sustainability news.

      SPILL HISTORY

              Talmadge Creek is pictured here on day two of the spill.


A Creek of Oil
A Creek of Oil
While Marshall residents, alarmed by odors near the rupture site, began calling the Marshall City emergency telephone line on July 25, Enbridge wasn't notified until the next day. On July 26, 17 hours after the accident, the company remotely closed the valves isolating the ruptured segment. Enbridge restarted the pipeline twice in that 17-hour period, pumping through oil that would account for 81 percent of the total spill.

Inside the Hot Zone

Inside the Hot Zone

Oil blackened more than two miles of Talmadge Creek before spreading into the Kalamazoo River. Spill responders called this area, where the oil ran thickest and volatile organic compounds escaped into the air, the "hot zone."
The EPA's record of more than 1.1 million gallons of oil collected is 15 percent larger than the 843,444 gallons that the company says was spilled. Enbridge spokeswoman Terri Larson told InsideClimate News that the company stands by its number.

Oiled Wildlife


Oiled Wildlife

A Great Blue Heron is covered in oil from the Enbridge oil spill, July 29, 2010.

The spill affected birds, mammals, reptiles and other animals native to the river and wetlands. Most animals collected in the months after the spill were eventually released. More than 50 birds died as a result of the spill, according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
Read the story by InsideClimate News.

Boom-Lined Banks


Boom-Lined Banks

Oil containment booms line parts of Talmadge Creek in September 2010, a month and a half after the spill.

Read the story by InsideClimate News.


 
The Long Cleanup

The Long Cleanup

A year after the spill, cleanup work continued where Talmadge Creek meets the Kalamazoo River. By July 2011, less than 10 percent of the spilled oil remained uncollected, the Associated Press reported.
Read the story by InsideClimate News.
Read more energy & sustainability new

No comments:

Post a Comment