CALHOUN COUNTY (WKZO) — Five years after the fracture in the 6-B pipeline that sent over 800-thousand gallons of Canadian crude into the Kalamazoo river…there is still oil out there.
Just how much oil, and how dangerous it may be, remains a matter of contention.
Environmentalists will tell you that Enbridge may have made the river look great again, but it’s all just a coverup.
Enbridge spokesman Jason Manshum says the remaining oil is mostly submerged and they still have crews on the river hunting it down, and responding to oil sheens in the water.
He says if they ever run into a major concentration of oil, they will return and clean it up.
Health officials have determined the river basin is safe, or at least no more dangerous than most other environments we deal with daily.
They do recommend that anyone who gets any oil on them, clean it off immediately.
The river was reopened to recreational use two years ago.
Manshum says they did remove all the debris and trash, the old tires and the abandoned shopping carts.
They have cleaned out the Invasive species and returned the river to its natural flow by removing the Ceresco Dam.
They have also added new amenities, riverside parks and boat launches. The fish have returned but they are still working on the turtle population.
