# Battle Creek Oil Spill



## amenz (Nov 17, 2008)

Well this is rather unfortunate...

http://www.freep.com/article/20100727/NEWS06/100727024/


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## anon12162011 (Jun 9, 2009)

An Estimated 840,000 Gallons of Oil is staggering....largest oil spill in Midwest history....

Anyone interested in lending a hand, may want to check out this link. This is the only one I have heard of so far for cleanup.

http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/...ife+refuge+seeks+help+with+oil-coated+animals

From what I am told, the number of ducks, geese, other birds and mammals is steadily growing.


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## GrizzlyBear (Apr 27, 2003)

We had our crews out (BCFD) along with the oil company and other independent environmental companies yesterday, as well as other local FD's for a good portion of the day. Unfortunately the river was moving too swiftly for the booms to do any good. Went and surveyed the river again today and the amount of oil coming through BC is awful. The whole river is covered in a slick and there are some fairly large tar balls coming down.

Saw a goose feeding in the median on Dickman Rd. today that had oil all over it. Surprisingly, the other 6 or so geese that were with it looked clean. This is a hell of a mess and the damage that's been done already is awful.


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## cheeseandquackers (Jun 20, 2007)

somone needs to find out whose **** to kick and make sure they keep the boot on the throat of Enbridge. Just sayin.


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## smoke (Jun 3, 2006)

I live on the Kalamazoo river below Allegan dam. The river just cleaned itself up from all the paper sludge that was puposly dumped in the river by the paper mills for years, now this! I have 600' of river frontage and I don't care to see oil or tar balls floating by my house.  The river is so beautiful in the section i'm in. Plus all the wildlife it will affect is staggering to be honest. And Marrow pond was a great place to hunt and fish smallies. Not for long I guess. The only thing that may save the river below is all the dams it has to flow over before reaching us, then shortly there after Lake Michigan!!!! 

Smoke :irked:


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## waterfowlhunter83 (Aug 10, 2005)

If it gets below the Allegan dam, it is going to be a disaster!


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## Branta (Feb 6, 2002)

*WHAT THE [BLEEP] IS 
GOING ON AROUND HERE?*

there's this guy I know that has been convinced since college that the world will end in his lifetime and specifically, in 2012.


I used to think he was just bat crazy.

now? I'm starting to wonder...


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## smoke (Jun 3, 2006)

www.response.enbridgeus.com Check out there web site for info. It's a Canadian pipeline/oil company. Approx. 19,500 barrels where spilled into the tributary creek and into the Kazoo river. This pipeline carried 1.6 billion barrels in one day in 2009 I believe. That my waterfowl hunting friends is a butt load of crude. The pipe is 30" dia. and runs from Indiana to Sarnia. 

Smoke 

PS: I will be watching for tar balls floating by my house in the next few days.


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## Bellyup (Nov 13, 2007)

I live in BC. 

This is nasty. My shop is on the stretch of river affected the worst. My honey holes are gone forever. Bad thing is, the river is above the banks, and into the woods several hundred yards. It is like this a lot of the time. The oil is not just in the river. It is on all the vegatation, trees, anything within reach in the back waters, flood stages, etc. The smell is something i can't take. It is like standing behind a city bus and breathing for hours. The river will clean itself, but all these backwaters... Enbridge has mentioned nothing about these...... 

Along the banks by my shop I have seen lots of dead and dying geese and ducks, lots of dead fish, even a wall mounter smallmouth bass, and lots of critters covered in oil. This is a tragedy, not an oil spill. 

And then the DNR guy on the news tells me it is against the law to help the birds and animals out.. I dare you to try and handcuff me at this moment. he would find himself handcuffed to the nearest tree for a day or two. 

I am afraid this is going to affect my season locally. I already have a hard enough time finding spots to hunt, this just plain friggin sucks the big one. Talk about a nail in the coffin. The river still has a slick running down the middle. 

Simple physics tells me the booms won't work... the ends are held, the water hits it, pushes the middle of the boom downriver, and eventually something has to give... the boom simply goes underwater and pops back up. How effective is this ? Not very. 


Now they are talking about making Morrow Pond (Lake Morrow) the final holding pen. A lot of hunters use this area. It has a lot of wetlands in it. Lots and lots. Good place to hunt when the flights are here. Now they are gonna stop the oil here and clean it up. I wonder if Enbridge will pay to dredge this ? I doubt it. 

Bottom line is, we can write off Morrow Pond for any hunting for then next several years, if ever.


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## Ruger-44 (Apr 2, 2009)

I really doubt the company will dredge Morrow Pond. It's got a lot of toxins buried in that sediment; they stay there if left undisturbed, but start dredging and all of a sudden, you got all sorts of toxins moving downstream again. I'm sure they will turn Morrow into a holding pond for the oil by shutting off the dam flow, but do I think they will get it cleaned up anytime soon? NO. Fact is, the Kzoo River east of Kalamazoo just became off limits to hunting for this season, probably more. That's a whole lot of hunters now scrambling for different hunting spots (myself included). 

Smoke -- as soon as I heard about this spill, my first thought was your front yard getting hit by the oil. Hope it never gets there my friend.


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## Anglers (Jun 24, 2010)

Branta said:


> *WHAT THE [BLEEP] IS *
> *GOING ON AROUND HERE?*
> 
> there's this guy I know that has been convinced since college that the world will end in his lifetime and specifically, in 2012.
> ...


 Dont have to worry about 2012 to much the way mankind is destroying the earth.I think if these companys was heald accoutable with their lifes thing would be different.Kinda like way back when the brick layers made arches.If they failed they put to death.I think they may think alot more about things then....


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## jimmyjette14 (Aug 25, 2005)

I live on the River in augusta, my back yard is quite flooded from the rain . this is a back water to the river. we started getting a light smell yesterday, a bit heavier today. the rain is showing the oil flow as the rain hits it differant than the water my wife said 10 minits ago this house was up for sale . now who wants it? oily swapp anyone


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## FullBody (Nov 4, 2008)

I honestly dont know what to say about this. Truely a disaster here locally. You never think it can happen in your own backyard so to speak- literally for some of you guys- IN YOUR BACKYARD. It was sickening to watch the spill in the gulf, but to have it so effing close-- I am disgusted.


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## Bellyup (Nov 13, 2007)

This rain we are getting right now.... it will be spreading all the oil more than it is... here in my backyard the oil slick is thick right in the midle of the river, after this heavy rain, I don't know what is going to happen. All I do know, is one of most favorite spots to hunt is gone. A private small spot on the river, was real pretty to sit at, maybe a bird now and again. But My lab, Hunter, fetched his first bird from this spot as a 4 month old lab. I have permission here becasue the neighbor allows me in there once or twice a season when he is not deer hunting.


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## Shiawassee_Kid (Nov 28, 2000)

this really sucks. not getting any media attention either....bah.


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## Flightstopper (Nov 19, 2009)

Yeah what a tragedy. I live in Battle Creek and the smell is unbareable. I have seen many dead and dying waterfowl. I too am one now scrambling to find new hunting and fishing spots. To see all the dead smallmouth and other fish just makes me sick. This needs to be more of a headline. People don't seem to realize how serious this is. If they can't stop this slick there could be horendous ramifications. I have seen geese on my local lakes with oil on them too. It could end up being a tough season. Hopefully they get it somewhat cleaned up before flights start coming through.


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## smoke (Jun 3, 2006)

I watched the local news 8 out of GR last night, news at 11:00. They have been digging up info on enbridge. They reported an enbridge truck at the site of the line break being there at 11:00pm Sunday night. Reportedly, they were there because someone called in about a "funny smell" coming from the pipeline. Hmmm. When people asked, what he was there for and what he was doing, he said, "the smell was nothing to worry about it was from a vent." Yea.............. sure it was, it was all ready leaking oil then. 

The EPA has taken over the spill containment along with enbridge and several other companies. The huge issue right now is the height of the river, it's not flood stage but it is very high and running very fast. the current in the kazoo is deceiving, it doesn't look like it's running very fast by us, but run up river in a boat and you find out quickly how much water is flowing by. Millions and millions of gallons per day. Now with the rain BC got yesterday, it is going to make the containment very difficult at best. I fully expect to see oil floating by my house in the next few days.................. That River has been mistreated for so many years, it sickening the think about it. The paper mills in Otsego and Plainwell dumped untreated raw paper sewage in the river for years unmonitored. In addition, they have yet to get much if any money out of them for cleanup! They just did a superfund project around US 131 where the river crosses under the highway. Now this! Unfriggin believable. 

The news also mentioned the the pipeline is shut down indefinitely because of a letter from the government sent to enbridge on 7/15 stating the the pipeline was corroded and not safe for use, because of corrosion in the exact location of the spill! SO when enbridge said the pipeline would be back up and running within a few days. Wrong answer gentleman. They had a meeting scheduled for 11:00pm last night, which was canceled at the last minute for some reason? 
[/COLOR] 
Smoke


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## anon12162011 (Jun 9, 2009)

This was posted yesterday online...

All Questions, Concerns, etc. should be directed to this website...numbers and contact info can be found there...

http://www.response.enbridgeus.com/response/


Dead on with all your stuff Smoke!


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## smoke (Jun 3, 2006)

Well Ryan, unfortunetly I have a huge stake in all this crap........  

I own 5 acres on the Kazoo with my home, duck boat dock, water well and 596' of frontage. I really felt bad for the people of the gulf coast as I have some close friends that live in La. and Ms, now I know exaclty how they feel brother. It's very difficult to even watch the news coverage, but I have a vested interest in this one. 

And just being a waterfowl hunter, it makes me want somebodies *** cheeks when I see all the waterfowl and water critters that are succumbing to this latest disaster! :rant: From ducks and geese to muskrats, mink and all the smallies that are dieing right now. It's sickening tbh.............. And to know that enbridge had knowledge of the issue with their friggin pipe! Just unbelievable! Why wasn't it taken care of before it got to this point. Or the blowout noticed with a pressure change in the pipe for cripes sakes! 

Doesn't anyone monitor this?! They are now estimating 1,000,000 gallons. It's now in the green space as well as the flood plain because the water is so high......

My guess would be GREED my friend PURE FILTHY BLACK GOLD GREED! 

Smoke


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## carsonr2 (Jan 15, 2009)

Sad, sad day. Thoughts are with you guys having to deal directly with this tragedy.

Have they had to shut down some municiple water supplys associated with the K-zoo river?


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## Linda G. (Mar 28, 2002)

Is it true that they pipe it through Michigan and then to Sarnia, rather than through Ontario, because of the Canadian Shield (lots of rock) and that Ontario would not let them run the pipelines above ground??

Who in Michigan got paid for allowing this pipeline to come through? Did they allow it for free? Or did the State of Michigan make something...?

Just asking...I just did a story on the fracking/Collingwood shale situation up here by a company called Encana, and read some pretty interesting stuff while researching that on the web...


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## Shlwego (Sep 13, 2006)

Linda G. said:


> Is it true that they pipe it through Michigan and then to Sarnia, rather than through Ontario, because of the Canadian Shield (lots of rock) and that Ontario would not let them run the pipelines above ground??
> 
> Who in Michigan got paid for allowing this pipeline to come through? Did they allow it for free? Or did the State of Michigan make something...?
> 
> Just asking...I just did a story on the fracking/Collingwood shale situation up here by a company called Encana, and read some pretty interesting stuff while researching that on the web...


Good questions, Linda. I would hope that the State is making something off of the pipeline.

I've also been reading up on fracking as a means of oil and natural gas extraction. Seems to be some pretty bad stuff going on, but not a lot of what's happening is being reported (and many people who have been impacted negatively by it have taken pretty big "settlements" that have required them to keep their mouths shut). We seem to allow an awful lot of potentially bad stuff in our quest for energy....


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## Ontario Gunner (Oct 21, 2003)

Im a Frac'er. Ask away and ill try to answer your questions. Did a 250,000 ton job today,, and have a 1.1 million ton coming up.


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## snake13 (Mar 2, 2009)

Just want to let you guys know that we are working our asses off trying to clean up this mess. I work for a private environmental company and have been working 90-100 hr weeks for 3 weeks now. Just taking my first day off since the spill and thought id catch up on what everyone has been saying about it. I have been working out the wildlife rehab center that they set up in Marshall, catching oiled animals, scouting swampland and setting up wildlife deterrents. If you live on the river between Marshall and BC I'm sure ive walked by your property or talked to you. Ive hiked most of the river in this area and from what ive seen, there has been a drastic improvement in the past week. There are numerous crews out cutting and bagging all the impacted vegitation along the shoreline and spillover areas. 

I really hope it gets cleaned up before hunting season for you guys, cause ive seen some monster bucks down there. Ill be heading back down in the morning for another couple weeks so maybe ill run into some of you local guys


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## Bellyup (Nov 13, 2007)

Thanks for comments, it helps knowing someone is there. I have not talked to you yet, but I sure hear the airboats going up and down the river non stop. 

The smell is still horrible when the airboats stir it up, but I am glad they are cleaning things up. 

We have been talking to Enbridge a lot so who knows. We are in the Red Zone as they describe it. 

If you get around Raymond road let me know. 

Dave


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