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
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
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
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
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
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
A Creek of Oil 
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