Past problems for company at heart of Michigan oil spill

A Canadian company whose pipeline leaked hundreds of thousands of oil into a Michigan river boasts on its website of being "an industry leader in pipeline safety and integrity." A decade's worth of leaks, an explosion and regulatory violations throughout the Great Lakes region and elsewhere in the U.S. suggest otherwise. Enbridge Inc. or its affiliates have been cited for 30 enforcement actions since 2002 by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration–the U.S. Department of Transportation's regulatory arm. In a warning letter sent Jan. 21, the agency told the company it may have violated safety codes by improperly monitoring corrosion in the pipeline responsible for the massive spill Monday in Talmadge Creek, a waterway in Calhoun County's Marshall Township that flows into the Kalamazoo River. The Environmental Protection Agency estimated the spill at more than 1 million gallons of oil, saying it had traveled 25 miles downstream. The state estimates it has traveled 35 miles. Gov. Jennifer Granholm warned of a "tragedy of historic proportions" should it travel an additional 80 miles and reach Lake Michigan and the vacation communities that depend on it.