BATTLE CREEK (WKZO) Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm is not happy with the response of Enbridge Energy Partners to the Marshall oil spill that has now according to Enbridge CEO Patrick Daniel spilled 19,500 barrels of oil into the region.
Calhoun and Kalamazoo Counties have both declared a state of emergency because of a massive oil spill near Marshall, making them eligible for federal help and the Governor wants the EPA to take over the cleanup immediately, and not leave it up to Enbridge Energy.
She also doubts their estimates of the amount of oil that has leaked saying:
"I have great knowledge that companies will do what they can to protect their reputation, their interest and their shareholders. I worry that we were undersold in terms of the amount of crude that was released. We do not want to see a repeat of what happened in the Gulf."
Granholm also says it’s much further down the river than Enbridge has been saying. She says it’s too close to Morrow Lake. That’s her line in the sand. She wants it stopped before then because if it gets into the lake, it will be impossible to stop.
Enbridge President and CEO Patrick Daniel says the company has deployed 150 people, 30 vacuum trucks, and 43-thousand feet of boom to corral and recover the oil. At an afternoon news conference, he called their response “overkill” but the Governor disagrees. Daniel says they will pick up the tab, but says it’s too early to estimate what the final cost might be.
The pipe at the center of the cleanup runs from Indiana to Sarnia, Ontario and was built in 1969. Daniel says the pipe was shutdown as soon as the accident was realized and oil has stopped flowing from the pipe but Granholm says the cleanup efforts must immediately be turned up.
