Obama pledges swift response after Battle Creek oil spill; Granholm tours site

Detroit News staff and wire

Marshall Township -- President Barack Obama has pledged a swift response to requests for help in dealing with a spill that dumped more than 800,000 gallons of oil into waterways in southern Michigan.

White House spokesman Matt Lehrich says U.S. Rep. Mark Schauer, D- Battle Creek updated the president about the spill Tuesday. Lehrich says Obama asked what the U.S. government could do to provide additional help.

Schauer told reporters on a conference call that the spill is a "public health crisis."

Gov. Jennifer Granholm toured the area by helicopter Tuesday evening, then met with state and federal officials for a briefing. She said more resources should be devoted to cleaning up the spill.

"From my perspective, the response has been anemic," she said.

The cause of spill is under investigation. The oil spilled into Talmadge Creek, which flows northwest into the Kalamazoo River. The site is in Calhoun County's Marshall Township, about 60 miles southeast of Grand Rapids.

"According to EPA officials, this is the largest oil spill ever in the Midwest," said Schauer. "The EPA is estimating 1 million gallons (spilled). ... This feels like déjÀ vu all over again with regard to what happened in the Gulf."

The oil spilled into Talmadge Creek, which flows northwest into the Kalamazoo River. The site is in Calhoun County's Marshall Township near Battle Creek and about 60 miles southeast of Grand Rapids. The pipe may have been leaking for many hours before it was originally reported to have burst Monday morning. Marshall Township fire officials responded to complaints of an oily smell from residents.

More than 20 homes have been evacuated

EPA officials in Chicago's regional office declined to say it is the largest spill. "It certainly is one of the largest in recent memory in the Midwest," EPA Spokesman Mick Hans said.

Schauer also took issue with the handling of the pipeline rupture by the company that owns the line, Enbridge Liquid Pipelines.

"I want to find out how the hell this happened," he said. "I am especially concerned about the response of the company and whether their estimates are accurate."

Early estimates of the amount of oil that have spilled from an underground pipeline hovered around 840,000 gallons. Schauer said the spill is now being investigated by the EPA as well as the National Transportation Safety Board.