EPA says it has begun criminal probe of Enbridge Michigan accident

MARSHALL, Mich. - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Sept. 8 said during a conference call with reporters that its criminal arm was investigating the July rupture of Enbridge Line 6B in Calhoun County, Mich.
The EPA announced in early August that it was conducting a civil investigation, but this is the first time the EPA has acknowledged a criminal probe into the ruptured line that spilled an estimated 19,500 barrels of synbit (upgraded tarsands crude oil) into the Kalamazoo River watershed.
On top of the civil and criminal investigations by the EPA, the National Transportation Safety Board, the Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee of the U.S. House Transportation Committee and the Michigan attorney general’s office all have active investigations into the incident as well. The Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration is also investigating.
In the Sept. 8 call, EPA Region 5 Director Susan Hedman confirmed that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from the Grand Rapids office in Michigan have initiated yet another investigation into allegations that a subcontractor had hired undocumented workers to work on the cleanup for 12 to 14 hours a day.