ICYMI: Investigative Report on Kalamazoo Tar Sands Pipeline Spill Finds Higher Toxicity, High Danger from Tar Sands Crude Pipelines and Pipeline Companies – “The cleanup of the Kalamazoo River dilbit spill was unlike any cleanup the EPA had ever tackled before…"
A new investigative report by Inside Climate News reveals the toxicity and danger of tar sands crude pipelines. The million gallon Kalamazoo River spill by the Enbridge oil company contaminated more than 30 miles of river after the pipeline broke under a streambed in 2010. Residents were sickened by emissions from the tar sands crude and highly toxic dilutants that allow companies to pump the thick, sandy crude through pipelines at high temperature and pressure.
Susan Connolly, a resident of Marshall, Michigan, has lived with the consequences of the 2010 Enbridge Kalamazoo River tar sands spill and is available to comment on her firsthand experience and the finding of the Inside Climate News feature. To arrange an interview with Susan contact Jane Kleeb, details below.
The new report highlights:
- The high toxicity of tar sands crude, including heavy metals and cancer-causing chemicals.
- The unreliability of tar sands pipelines carrying corrosive crude at high temperature and pressure.
- The irresponsibility of oil companies whose dismal safety standards and inadequate emergency procedures leave local communities and emergency responders burdened with a potentially deadly situation.
- The difficulty of cleaning up heavy, sticky tar sands crude, which sinks in water and bonds with soil, making clean up next to impossible.
From Inside Climate News:
“What the EPA didn't know then, however, was that 6B was carrying bitumen, the dirtiest, stickiest oil on the market… Federal and local officials didn't discover until more than a week after the spill that 6B was carrying dilbit, not conventional oil. Federal regulations do not require pipeline operators to disclose that information.”
“The cleanup of the Kalamazoo River dilbit spill was unlike any cleanup the EPA had ever tackled before. Instead of remaining on top of the water, as most conventional crude oil does, the bitumen gradually sank to the river's bottom, where normal cleanup techniques and equipment were of little use.”
“Defect 6B, where the Kalamazoo rupture occurred, “was detected at least three times before the pipeline ruptured, in 2005, 2007 and 2009, according to documents Enbridge filed with PHMSA over the years. But each time, Enbridge decided it wasn't significant enough to require repairs within 180 days. Ten days before 6B ruptured, Enbridge applied to PHMSA for another extension. It asked for an additional two and a half years to decide whether 6B should be repaired or replaced.”
“Enbridge missed its Sept. 27 EPA deadline—the one that required it to rid the creek, river and shorelines of all oil. A new deadline was set for Oct. 31… Nobody was surprised when Enbridge failed to meet the EPA’s Oct. 31 deadline for removing all submerged oil from the river. A few days later, the company increased its estimate of how much oil had spilled from 6B from 819,000 gallons to 843,444 gallons… In June 2011, the EP gave Enbridge a new deadline: finish the river cleanup by Aug. 31. But the company missed that deadline too… On April 18, 2012—21 months after 6B ruptured—the first mile of the tainted section of the Kalamazoo River was opened to the public for boating and swimming.”
With the number of pipelines proposed to carry tar sand crude across America for export growing, this new report is critical for communities, for public officials and for the public to understand the true threat posed by tar sands.
Stop Dirty Tar Sands, United States (Sierra Club, Bold Nebraska, NRDC)