Of that amount, US$61 million is for a pipeline rupture in MI that sent more than three-million litres of crude oil into the Kalamazoo River and a tributary creek, resulting in one of the costliest onshore oil spills in USA history.
Advertisement
Enbridge said Wednesday that of that amount, $61 million is for a pipeline rupture in MI that sent more than 800,000 gallons of crude into the Kalamazoo River and a tributary creek, resulting in one of the costliest onshore oil spills in USA history.
More than 1 million gallons of sludgy tar sands oil was discharged into Marshall’s Talmadge Creek and the Kalamazoo River starting July 25, 2010, from a rupture in Line 6B, a 30-inch pipeline operated by Enbridge.
The fine, the largest ever for a pipeline spill under the Clean Water Act, come on top of other spill-related costs, including $4 million in natural resource damages the company agreed to pay a year ago.
The $62 million, assessed as financially penalty for violating the U.S. Clean Water Act, essentially reimburses the federal oil spill fund set up to pay for disaster cleanup after the Exxon Valdez tanker spill in 1989. As part of the deal, Enbridge will also be required to replace nearly 300 miles of one of its pipelines in the area. The settlement requires the company to put together a report of whether Line 10 near West Seneca, New York should be replaced, in addition to inspections and studies related to its Line 5 that runs under Michigan’s Straits of Mackinac.
The spill devastated Talmadge Creek, surrounding wetlands, and fouled about 38 miles of the Kalamazoo River.
The company reached a $75 million settlement with MI in May 2015 that required Enbridge to restore wetlands, compensate the state for money spent on the cleanup and other measures.
An investigation of the Marshall spill by the National Transportation Safety Board found that the Kalamazoo spill was the result of errors seen in prior Enbridge accidents.
Brad Shamla, Enbridge’s vice president for USA operations, said the company “fully accepts the penalties and increased safety measures” in the agreement.
Enhance its emergency spill response preparedness programs by conducting four emergency spill response exercises to test and practice Enbridge’s response to a major inland oil spill.
Enbridge’s Gustafson said the company has already put in place numerous changes the settlement calls for.
Shamla said Enbridge has spent $5 billion on maintenance, inspection and leak detection since the MI spill.
The agreement was filed with the U.S. District Court for Michigan’s Western District.
The source said criminal charges were not expected.
$61 million in penalties for the Kalamazoo spill.
The EPA and Justice Department will accept comments from the public for 60 days on the proposed settlement.
Advertisement
“We’ll never forget what happened in Marshall”, Shamla said.
