Wisconsin state and federal officials are reporting an oil spill from an Enbridge pipeline, Line 6. The spill is about 60 miles west of Milwaukee near the small town of Oakland.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources said in a release that Enbridge first reported a two-gallon oil spill. Later it was revised to 126 gallons. Now, it’s past 69,000 gallons.
That’s 15 times more than what Enbridge reported spilling in all of North America in all of last year.
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration report indicated that the oil spill is limited to soil contamination on Enbridge-owned land. It’s considered a High Consequence Area because of its proximity to nearby homes.
Estimates indicate the cleanup costs and the loss of product will amount to a little more than $1 million.
The spill occurs as Enbridge faces opposition to replacing Line 3 in Minnesota, rerouting Line 5 around tribal land in Wisconsin, and building a tunnel in the Straits of Mackinac to replace part of Line 5 in Michigan.
Opponents of the projects point to this latest spill as further evidence that the crude oil and natural gas liquids pipelines are a risk to sensitive environmental areas and the Great Lakes.
Editor's note: Enbridge is among Michigan Public's corporate sponsors.
