Company doubling workforce on cleanup effort following oil spill into major Michigan river

Company doubling workforce on Mich. river spill

BATTLE CREEK, Mich. — A company operating a pipeline that dumped more than 800,000 gallons of oil into a southern Michigan river says it’s doubling its work force on the containment and cleanup effort.

Officials with Calgary, Alberta-based Enbridge Inc. made the announcement during a Wednesday update on the spill. The company had about 200 employees and contractors working on the spill a day earlier.

The Environmental Protection Agency also is bringing in additional contractors.

Oil leaking from a 30-inch pipeline coated birds and fish as it poured into a creek and flowed into the Kalamazoo River, one of the state’s major waterways, before it was shut off Monday.

Enbridge estimates 819,000 gallons spilled. The state says it was told during a company briefing an estimated 877,000 gallons spilled.