EPA Issues Clean-up Directive to Enbridge

The US Environmental Protection Agency has issued a directive requiring Enbridge to take additional steps to clean up the July 2010 oil spill that damaged over 35 miles of the Kalamazoo River system. The directive requires Enbridge to submit plans by 20th October 2011 for clean-up and monitoring work expected to last through 2012. Failure to comply could result in civil penalties. 

 

The EPA directive lays out a performance-based framework for assessing and recovering submerged oil in the river and cleaning up oil-contaminated river banks. The Enbridge pipeline spill impacted the Kalamazoo River system from Talmadge Creek to Morrow Lake. EPA transferred primary oversight of ongoing cleanup activities along Talmadge Creek to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality on 5^th August 2011.