OAKLAND, Wis. (AP) — About 70,000 gallons (264,978 liters) of oil from a pipeline spilled into the ground in Wisconsin, officials said.
The problem was discovered Nov. 11 in Jefferson County, 60 miles west of Milwaukee, by an Enbridge Energy technician, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported, citing a federal accident report.
Enbridge said the leak on the company’s Line 6 was caused by a faulty connection on a pump transfer line at the Enbridge Cambridge Station. It was estimated at 1,650 barrels, equivalent to approximately 70,000 gallons.
“The investigation and remediation began immediately upon discovery and continues. Removal of affected soil continues,” spokesperson Juli Kellner said Saturday, adding that 60% of the spill has been removed through excavation.
Kellner said the spill was immediately reported to regulators, although a federal pipeline safety agency report said the line likely leaked for an “extended period of time.”
“We are working with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources as the cleanup and restoration continues,” Kellner said.
Line 6 is a 470-mile (748.3-kilometer) pipeline that carries crude oil from Superior, Wisconsin, to a terminal near Griffith, Indiana, according to a company map.
Critics noted that the spill was discovered the same week that Wisconsin regulators approved the first permits for Enbridge’s plan to move the aging Line 5 pipeline around the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa Reservation. Opponents said this would still threaten the region’s watershed and perpetuate the use of fossil fuels.
