Sign at 15 Mile Road Bridge in Marshall Township, Calhoun County.
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The oil spill in the Kalamazoo River is entering its third day. It started when a transcontinental pipeline ruptured near the town of Marshall. Governor Granholm was on site yesterday. And President Obama has pledged support. At least 19,500 barrels have flowed into the river and to the City of Kalamazoo. The story from Chris McCarus with Michigan Now:
People parked their cars next to 15 Mile Road bridge. It’s just west of the City of Marshall. Swift current carried black and blue plumes along the surface of the Kalamazoo River. Mike Dirk lives nearby.
“I don’t know how long it will take for me to get back in the river. I know it’s flowing but it’s a bummer. I really did want to go tubing down this this summer. I don’t know if I want to go down it with every piece of tree, branch, weeds, grass. It’s oil.”
Michiganders have gotten used to reading and watching about oil spilled in the Gulf of Mexico. But not in Southern Michigan.
“Where’s this starting at and why?
The spill started Sunday night or Monday morning from a broken oil pipeline. It’s owned by Enbridge Energy Partners, L.P. The company’s website says it is “A leader in energy delivery, with deep roots in liquid petroleum and natural gas transportation.” The pipeline runs from Alberta Canada, through North Dakota, over to Indiana and through to Port Huron on its way back to up to Montreal. In just two days, Enbridge has delivered 20,000 barrels of crude oil into the Kalamazoo River. David Wood says environmental damage hurts the economy too.
“This is what? Twice that two foreign oil companies turn around and try to screw up our coasts, our economic system? Stop pumping oil man.”
Wood says he’s ready to sacrifice his own oil consumption to avoid disaster.
“If you turn around and go back to horse and buggy or bike. Out of all the years they drove horse and buggy or bicycles you never had a problem like this. It’s just that everybody wants to go faster and get some place faster. There’s no point behind it. Just leave earlier. Do you know this river well? I’ve lived here all my life.”
Wood says he’s a truck driver who practices what he preaches. He burns corn based ethanol.
“My truck runs off of E85.”
Teresa Reinhart drove over from Battle Creek.
“It’s disgusting. It’s sickening and sad. It’s the topic of conversation everywhere. You can smell it for miles. It makes you want to cry. What does it smell like? Like tar. Like burning. Something burning.”
Would Reinhart drive less if she could help avoid disasters?
“Oh sure absolutely. If it could prevent this.”
A Michigan conservation officer said EPA officials are calling this the worst ever oil spill in the upper midwest. Governor Granholm flew over in a helicopter. At a news conference last night she called the pipeline company’s response “anemic.” The White House promised to help. So how can the pollution be stopped?
“Notify the DNR. Have them use their resources to stem the flow first of all. Somehow they gotta stop the flow. The clean up is gonna take weeks if not months.”
Jerry Gilbert is a former Fire Chief of Battle Creek. He and his wife Jane live next to a pond where 20 geese rested in the shade.
“Did you see the oil on all those geese. So sad.”
The geese were all black. Oil stained their white underbellies.
Where Talmadge Creek flows into the Kalamazoo, an Enbridge Energy crew tried to block the oil with rubber walls. They skimmed then pumped it through long tubes sent to semi-tanker trucks. John Lerg arrived from the DNRE wildlife division. He found a muskrat soaked in oil in some grass.
“That could be a young of the year. It is a little small. But I’m used to muskrats with a full fleece. Obviously the oil has matted it down. We’re saving it as proof. There’s nothing like a dead animal to prove the loss.”
For Michigan Now I’m Chris McCarus in Marshall Township, Calhoun County.