KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — On July 25, 2010, Enbridge Line 6B broke open near Marshall, and began to pour Canadian tar sands oil into the Kalamazoo River.
Over one million gallons was released into the river, with Enbridge failing to notify authorities until a day-and-a-half after the incident began.
The spill was actually discovered by a resident who lived along the river, with the occupants of over 61 homes along the Kalamazoo having to leave their homes due to the spill.
The cleanup effort was very extensive and some elements continue today.
Pipeline 6B was rebuilt as an expansion project in 2015 and now named Line 78.
Enbridge termed it as a replacement project and doubled the pipeline’s carrying capacity. Today, Line 78 continues to pump over 11 million gallons of Canadian oil on this pipeline alone in addition to the nearly 23 million gallons pumped through Line 5 on its way through and out of Michigan every day.
Line 6B was built in 1969 and is 293 miles long. It is part of Enbridge’s 1,900-mile Lakehead System which transports Canadian oil to major refining centers in the Great Lakes region, the Midwest and Ontario.
The incident remains the largest and costliest inland spill in US history.
