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Enbridge criticized for past problems with leaking pipelines

EPA

This Wednesday marks the second anniversary of the Kalamazoo River oil spill.

A national environmental group is releasing a report today attacking the company whose pipeline broke.

More than 800,000 gallons of crude oil leaked into the Kalamazoo River from a broken pipeline near Marshall in July of 2010.    It's the biggest oil spill of its kind in U.S. history,  but hardly the first for Enbridge Energy.

The National Wildlife Federation points out Enbridge pipelines have been involved in hundreds of leaks since 1999.

“After every spill, they say they will do it better,” says Jeremy Symons,  with the National Wildlife Federation,   “But their shoddy record, year after year, proves that Enbridge can not be trusted to keep toxic tar sands oil out of our drinking water.”

Enbridge issued a statement calling the National Wildlife Federation's report "irresponsible...." containing "numerous errors and misrepresentations."

Federal regulators sharply criticized Enbridge for failing to respond to corrosion in the pipeline that failed, corrosion they were aware of for years before the catastrophic leak.
 

The clean-up has cost more than $800 million and continues.

Steve Carmody has been a reporter for Michigan Public since 2005. Steve previously worked at public radio and television stations in Florida, Oklahoma and Kentucky, and also has extensive experience in commercial broadcasting.
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