EPA says Enbridge has not completed cleanup of 2010 Michigan oil spill

MARSHALL, Mich. - It isn't always visible, but there is still oil contaminating the Kalamazoo River Basin more than a year after an Enbridge petroleum pipeline ruptured near Marshall.

"The river looks great," observes Environmental Protection Agency emergency response chief Mark Durno. "The problem isn't what you see. It's what you don't see."

On Aug. 17, government and company representatives presented an update on the cleanup effort to a crowd at the Marshall Community Center.

The EPA says three quarters of a million gallons of spilled oil has been recovered, but there are still 100,000 gallons out there, mostly on the bottom of the Kalamazoo River.

"There is still submerged oil spread along 35 miles of the river impacted by the spill," EPA regional administrator Susan Hedman told the audience.

"There is oil in the river," agrees Bob Sackrider, who owns riverfront property. " You can see the oil in the river, so it's there."

On July 26, 2010, Enbridge Line 6B ruptured and spilled at least 843,000 gallons of oil into Talmage Creek and the Kalamazoo River.

Enbridge crews are stirring up the oil on the river bottom so it rises to the surface. They skim it off and then repeat the process.

"We assess, we clean and after we are done cleaning we reassess," says Dumo.

"We will stay and keep working until the river is restored," adds Hedman.