Enbridge to Fork Over $75 Million for Role in Kalamazoo Tar Sands Spill

The Canadian energy giant responsible for a pipeline rupture that spilled close to one million gallons of tar sands oil into the Talmadge Creek and Kalamazoo River in 2010 has reached a $75 million settlement with the state of Michigan, an amount that leaves environmentalists asking: Is it enough?

According to news reports, the settlement package between the state and Enbridge Energy—which ends any further legal action against Enbridge for the 2010 spill—includes $40 million in already-completed projects and $35 million in work yet to be done, including wetland and habitat restoration, oversight and monitoring, and improvements to water quality.

As the Associated Press notes, “wetlands are considered to be crucial in a watershed, serving as nature’s filter in absorbing and releasing water and providing habitat to fish and wildlife.”

The terms of the agreement stipulate that all of the money will be earmarked for restoration and improvement of the affected watershed, and that the money cannot be diverted to unrelated areas of the state budget.

Michigan Department of Environmental Quality director Dan Wyant reportedly described the settlement as a “huge win for Michigan’s environment” in a statement issued Wednesday morning.

The Enbridge spill, considered the largest inland oil spill in U.S. history, impacted more than 38 miles of the Kalamazoo River and 4,435 acres of adjacent shoreline habitat. The Canada-based pipeline corporation has so far spent more than $1 billion on clean-up and restoration.

In the wake of the spill, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released a damning investigation showing that Enbridge ignored warning signs for five years in its pipeline.

Given these facts, not to mention the residual oil still existing in the river, some environmentalists say the settlement is insufficient.