Michigan oil spill a replay of Gulf spill?It’s looking like the oil spill from a pipeline into the Talmadge Creek in Calhoun County is going to be a replay of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in at least one respect — the companies, aided by the government, do not want the media to have access to take pictures and video of what is going on. The Michigan Messenger’s Todd Heywood is on the scene and was turned away from one of the primary sites by employees of Enbridge, the company that owns and operates the pipeline.
More here
Oil spill update: State of emergency declared as 800,000 gallons of leaked oil begins flowing through Kalamazoo County
AUGUSTA — Kalamazoo County officials declared a state of emergency Tuesday afternoon as more than 800,000 gallons of oil released into a creek began making its way downstream in the Kalamazoo River.
“I just came from Fort Custer and you can smell it now,” Kalamazoo County Undersheriff Pali Matyas said. “... It’s all rolling downhill and there are a lot of complications.”
Matyas said police, local fire departments and local hazardous-materials companies are working to set up booms to trap the crude oil but workers are not able to use their trucks to remove oil from the water because high water levels have made the areas inaccessible to the vehicles.
“We’re racing against time here too because the weather is supposed to get pretty bad tomorrow,” Matyas said.
County officials said they began an emergency response at about 6 p.m. Monday after news spread that a 30-inch oil pipeline in Marshall sprung a leak and released oil into the Talmadge Creek, which feeds into the Kalamazoo River. Houston-based Enbridge Energy Partners said the pipeline has been shut down but that did not happen before more than 800,000 gallons flowed into the creek.
View full sizeThe Associated PressA Canada Goose covered in some oil walks near the Kalamazoo River in Battle Creek
Kalamazoo County officials said Tuesday that local health officials are monitoring the oil spill and advised residents to avoid all contact with water from the Kalamazoo River “until further notice,” according to a news release issued just after 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.
“All surface water activities, including swimming, wading, fishing and boating/canoeing/kayaking, should cease,” officials said in the news release. “Additionally, due to the fumes associated with a crude oil spill, people are warned to avoid (spending) time in the immediate area around the river. This order will remain in effect until further investigation indicates that risk has been minimized.”
Said Matyas: “We’re throwing everything we have at it.”
Source
Boat Crashes Into Oil Well, Creating New Spill in Gulf of Mexico
URGENT: Fox News is being told by the Homeland Security director for Jefferson Parish, La., that a new oil leak has sprung up in the Gulf of Mexico after a boat struck an oil well in the early morning hours on Tuesday.
A tugboat or other workboat collided with the well near Bayou St. Dennis, La., shearing off its valve structure and releasing pressurized natural gas and light oil, DHS official Deano Bonano told Fox News.
Cleanup workers are currently booming off the area and the scene at sea has been taken over by federal agents. The U.S. Coast Guard, Jefferson Parish police and fire officials, as well as Vessels of Opportunity boats have all been dispatched to the scene.
Federal officials do not know who owns the well, but a contractor who handles wild wells is also on the way, Bonano said.
Oil is spewing about 20 feet in the air from the severed 4-inch pipe, a contractor who flew over the leak told Fox News. The area has been evacuated and civilian boats are being told not to enter the scene, where "a fair bit of oil" is leaking out, the contractor said.
Source
The Big Wobble Website
Steve Gibson, Sheriff of Nottingham for blogger's or an inverted Robin Hood?
