Enbridge Energy Partners estimates cleanup for Ill. pipeline leak will cost up to $60 million

Ill. pipeline spill cleanup estimated up to $60M

CHICAGO — The company behind a pipeline leak this month near Chicago estimates it will cost up to $60 million to clean up the area where hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil spilled.

Enbridge Energy Partners LP said Wednesday its estimate of $40 million to $60 million doesn’t include potential penalties. It said insurance money should reduce the total charge for the cleanup to $10 million to $15 million.

The Sept. 9 leak spilled oil into vegetation, a retention pond and a sewage treatment plant in Romeoville. The line was closed for about a week, disrupting delivery of as much as 670,000 barrels of oil products a day to Midwest refineries and causing a jump in crude oil and regional gasoline prices.

Federal officials have said more than 250,000 gallons of oil have been recovered from the site. Their investigation is ongoing. Enbridge Energy said it expects remediation efforts to continue through the end of the year.

The pipeline was closed within hours after the leak was detected. Crews replaced a 12-foot section of damaged pipe before the line was reopened.

The pipeline was the third owned by Canada-based Enbridge Inc. to be put out of commission this summer. Enbridge also owns a pipeline from Indiana to Ontario that in July spilled hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil into a southern Michigan waterway, where cleanup is ongoing.

Enbridge Energy Partners is an affiliate of Enbridge Inc., based in Calgary, Canada. Its shares rose 61 cents to $53.98 Wednesday.