Suspected diesel spill found in Kalamazoo River

February 02, 2012 -- 6:09 AM

Battle Creek firefighters Chad Hughes, front, and Mihaly Drabik spread booms across a small stream which empties into the Kalamazoo River Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012 as Clean up began on a spill of several hundred gallons of suspected diesel fuel into Battle Creek?s storm sewer system.

Thu, 2012-02-02 06:09

Authorities say a suspected diesel fuel spill has been found in the Kalamazoo River at Battle Creek.

The Battle Creek Enquirer reports (http://bcene.ws/yarExx) the spill was found Wednesday in a drainage ditch that's fed by storm sewers. Officials in the southern Michigan city searched Thursday for the source.

Brian Kelly, an on-scene coordinator for the Environmental Protection Agency, estimated that several hundred gallons of suspected diesel fuel was in the system that empties into the river.

Crews responding to the spill placed absorbent material across a stream between the storm sewer and the river.

Workers for Calgary, Alberta-based Enbridge Inc. assisted. They've been working to clean the river since a 2010 pipeline rupture spilled more than 800,000 gallons of oil into the Kalamazoo River and Talmadge Creek near Marshall.

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Information from: Battle Creek Enquirer, http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com